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Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner, D. D, 

OF THF 

UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST, 
WITH AN APPENDIX 



CONTAINING A 



NUMBER OF HIS SERMONS AND SKETCHES 



REV. A. W. DRURY, D. D., 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

REV. JAMES W. HOTT, D. 




Published for John Dodds 

BY 

United Brethren Publishing House, 
dayton, ohio, 
1889. 




Copyrighted, 1889* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE, 

Scope Taken — Family — Training at Home and at School — 
Training - from Life — Surroundings 17 



CHAPTER II. 

Conversion — Joins the United Brethren Church — Class Lead- 
er — Exhorter — Preacher — Preparation for the Work 29 

CHAPTER III. 

Attends Virginia Conference — The Field — The Session — 
Joins Conference — Sent to Hagerstown Circuit — Year of 
Success — Elements as a Preacher — Conference of 1832 — 
Staunton Circuit — Itinerants' Home — Marriage — Confer- 
ence of 1833 — Ordained — Returned to Staunton Circuit 44 



CHAPTER IV. 

Conference of 1834 — Elected Presiding Elder — Staunton Dis- 
trict — Re-elected Presiding Elder in 1835, 1836 and 1837 — 
Incidents — Sent to Shiloh Mission in 1838 and Returned 
in 1839 — In 1840 and 1841 on Frederick Circuit — In 1842 
Presiding Elder on Maryland District — Incidents from His 
Maryland Work — In 1843 on Rockbridge Circuit — In 1844 
and 1845 Assigned to Staunton Circuit — Character as a 
Preacher — Personal Elements — Sermon at Franklin— Sup- 
port of Church Interests — Extracts from Published Articles 

— Home L-ife 63 

V 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

PAGE. 

Delegate to General Conference of 1837 — Original Character 
of the Church — Condition at this Time — A Constitution 
Adopted — Delegate to General Conference of 1841 — Debate 
on Constitution — Mr. Glossbrenner's Attitude — Clause on 
Amendments — Acceptance of the Constitution — Other Acts 
of the Conference 88 



CHAPTER VI. 

Delegate to General Conference of 1845 — Educational Work 
Begun — Elected Bishop — East District — West District — 
Otterbein University Founded — Virginia Conference in 
1847 — Camp-meeting Sermon — Middle District— Spirit of 
the Church — Aversion to L,auding Men — General Confer- 
ence of 1849 — Temperance — Secret Societies — Slavery — Re- 
elected Bishop — Assigned West District — Holds Confer- 
ences on Middle District— West District— East District- 
Execution of the Daw on Slavery— West District 108 



CHAPTER VII. 
General Conference of 1853 — Extension of the Work — 
Depravity — Course of Reading — Organization of Mission- 
ary Society — Slavery — East District — First Round — Pre- 
sides in the West — General Conference of 1857 — Infant 
Baptism — Settlement of the Depravity Controversy — East 
District — Church Dedications — Dast Year of the Quadren- 
nium — His Services and Character — Relation to Slavery — 
Home L,ife 145 



CHAPTER VIII. 
General Conference of 1861 — Returned to East District — Shut 
Up Within the Confederate Dines— His Work During the 
War — Preaches to Southern Soldiers — His Royalty to the 
Union— Journey Through the Lines and Return— Close of 
the War — General Conference of 1865— His Course Dur- 



CONTENTS. 



Vll 



ing the War Approved — "Obnoxious Resolution" — Con- 
troversy with McCue — Welcomed on the East District- 
Holds His Conferences — General Questioning 174 

CHAPTER IX. 

General Conference of 1869 — Lay Delegation — Secrecy — 
Union Biblical Seminary — African Mission — Ohio District 
— Closing Address — Removal to Dayton, Ohio — In 1870 
Visits Pacific Coast — Traveling by Stage — Colorado Mission 
— Meeting of the Board of Missions in Baltimore — General 
Conference of 1873 — Lay Delegation — Special Daw — Under 
a Cloud — West Mississippi District — Closing Address — 
Made Doctor of Divinity — In 1876 Visits Pacific Coast — 
General Conference of 1877 — Old Questions — Sermon on 
Character of Bishop Edwards — East District — Sickness — 
Railroad Accident — Churchville Church — Article on Lay 
Delegation — Seminary Discourses 203 

CHAPTER X. 

General Conference of 1881 — Pro Rata Representation — Ohio 
District — First Round — Taken Sick — Dedication at Dayton 
— Second and Third Rounds — Missionary Sermons — Leba- 
non Valley Baccalaureate — Last Round — Sickness — Oppo- 
sition at North Ohio— Faithfulness as Bishop — Change in 
Sentiments — Golden Wedding — His Family — Congratula- 
tions — Death of Mother Shuey — Sickness and Death of 
Mrs. Glossbrenner — Bereaved but Still Battling 232 

CHAPTER XL 

Nineteenth General Conference— Bishops' Address — Changed 
Attitude of the Church — The Commission — Producing 
Causes — Embarrassments to Progress — Emeritus Bishop — 
Expressions of Esteem — Last Address — Sermon — Imme- 
diate Engagements — Session of Church Commission — 



Vlll 



CONTENTS. 



Further Work — Sickness and Death — Nature and Signifi- 
cance of Life and Character — Personal Characteristics — 
Secular Side — Social and Religious Character — Character 
as a Preacher — His Eminence — Character as a Bishop — 
Qualities as a Presiding Officer — Influence Immortal 254 

APPENDIX. 

SERMONS AND SKETCHES. 



The Love of Christ — I Magnify Mine Office — Disputations — 
Sowing Beside All Waters — The Open Door — Pray for the 
Peace of Jerusalem — The Church — Look Upon Zion 



INTRODUCTION. 



The hand that would trace the lines of a noble life 
after that life has been transferred to the land im- 
mortal, has set itself to the performance of a delicate 
task. When the heart-throb ceases, and the soul goes 
out into the world beyond, no one can replace among 
the forces of earth the throbbing heart which has been 
stilled, or stir again the strains of the voice hushed in 
death. Then something has gone out of this world 
w T hich can never come again. 

It is the mission of biography to trace out the footsteps 
of a life as that life has placed them in the path of 
human history. The biographer must approach the task 
of reproducing, in a living form, the spirit, and thought, 
and deeds of the departed. He should stand in closest 
fellowship with the spirit of the times in which the 
subjedt lived and toiled, and gather up the forces of. 
that life and place on the thought and under the eye 
of coming generations, those facts and principles which, 
in a peculiar sense, belonged to that life, and which 
lifted it above the ordinary and made it illustrious. 
He must set the deeds of that departed life in perspec- 
tive outline upon .the times in which it appeared, that 
they may tell again their story of struggle and triumph 

Such a life as that of Bishop Glossbrenner deserves 
to be lived over again a thousand times in the thought 

ix 



X 



INTRODUCTION. 



'and heart of others, and especially among the people 
of the Church in which he was the most conspicuous 
figure for almost half a century. 

No man since the days of Otterbein impressed his 
spirit, thought, and character so strongly on the United 
Brethren Church as did Bishop Glossbrenner; not that 
he was copied or imitated, for he was unique in 
character, and no man could be like him. He was as 
the sun which shines gently upon the earth. His spirit, 
and life, and thought shone benignantly upon the Church 
in all parts, and poured upon it an illumination, leading 
men to a purer Christian service and a nobler manhood. 

The writer will never forget the impressions made upon 
his heart the time he first saw Bishop Glossbrenner, 
nearly thirty-five years ago. He was then in his prime. 
He was a round-faced, splendidly formed specimen of 
manhood, but gentle, and courteous, and humble as a 
child. The writer, then a mere lad, watched with deepest 
attention every word and act of one so revered in his 
father's home. How thoughtful and kind were his words. 
With what benedictions his hands clasped the little hands 
of the children of that home, and how tenderly his right 
hand rested upon the heads of those children whose 
mother he had received into church fellowship many 
years before, when she was but a maiden. With what 
tenderness, and comprehensiveness, and thoughtfulness, 
and earnestness he prayed for all at the family altar, and 
then went his way. Who that ever saw Bishop Gloss- 
brenner in the home, and heard his prayers at the home 
altar, could ever forget him or cease to love him ? 

Nor can the writer ever forget the time he first met 
Bishop Glossbrenner at an annual conference. It was at 
Edenburg, Virginia, in 1862, as the cloud of war was 



INTRODUCTION. 



XI 



deepening and darkening over the whole sky of our 
nation. No one felt the sorrow of the deepening shadow 
so keenly as he. His love for the Church in Virginia 
induced him to remain there and suffer with his brethren. 
The writer, with five others, became members of the 
conference at that session. With what hopefulness the 
Bishop addressed this class of young preachers. With 
what earnestness he preached before the conference on 
the Sabbath day. How he spoke words of consolation 
and hope which seemed to come directly from God to the 
troubled hearts of that band of consecrated men who had 
resolved to die, if need be, for Christ and the Church they 
loved. With what deep solicitude he remembered, and 
prayed for, that portion of the Church from which he 
was painfull}' separated. The exalted opinion and tender 
love for the Bishop awakened thus in early life, no 
one could lose by association in after 3-ears. 

Bishop Glossbrenner as a man possessed gentleness and 
kindness in a large measure. He was no less a man 
of strong courage and undoubted firmness. He had a 
high sense of manly honor, and nothing so sorely 
wounded him as for him to feel that any one cast over 
him even a shadow of suspicion as to his own honor. 
He was incapable of such a reflection upon one of his 
brethren. In his home life he was most tender and 
affectionate. He was a typical Virginian and possessed 
all those splendid, manly elements which characterize 
the noblest phases of society in the State where he 
spent most of his home life during the long term of 
his general labors in the Church, and to which his 
peculiar attachments drew him in the closing years of 
his earthly pilgrimage. 

Bishop Glossbrenner, as a believer in the word of God, 



xii 



INTRODUCTION. 



and in the atonement of Christ, possessed a most satis- 
factory experience and faith. He was a man of the 
purest evangelical type. Doubtings and questionings in 
the presence of the word of God were to him unknown. 
He was a man with implicit faith in Christ. He could 
say with wonderful emphasis, " I know whom I have be- 
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that 
which I have committed unto him against that day." 
His heart responded to ever}' claim of Christ, and his 
faith was built alone upon the word of God. 

As a preacher of the gospel, Bishop Glossbrenner stood 
preeminent among his brethren. Our Church has had in 
its pulpits no such voice of persuasive sweetness as his. 
On his first charges he won the hearts of hundreds as a 
preacher of surpassing tenderness, sweetness, beaut}', and 
power. He was specifically a preacher of the word. He 
discoursed upon the great themes of the gospel. He 
spent no time on vague and fine theories. He depended 
upon no dramatic effect in the pulpit. With plain, earnest 
truth and well chosen words, he illumined the minds and 
softened the hearts of all who heard him. His was an 
eloquence of the truth, not of the orator. He built up a 
sermon as a pyramid of granite. He made a quotation from 
the Bible mean more than an}' other preacher of his time. 
He was marvelously uniform in his pulpit efforts. He 
never fell below the dignity and rank of a bishop in his 
sermons, while at times he rose to sublime strains of 
eloquence. In a school-house, or humble church, with 
a few dozen persons, he was as interesting and striking 
and instructive, as when in the pulpit before hundreds 
3f entranced hearers. While he may not have been 
unaffected by circumstance, he drew his inspiration 
directly from Christ and the truth he proclaimed. It is 



INTRODUCTION. 



XI 11 



exceedingly fortunate that this volume should contain a 
number of the sermons and sketches of sermons of the 
Bishop as prepared and used by him. They exhibit the 
thoroughness, clearness, and carefulness of his pulpit 
preparation, and show us the great fields of truth to 
which he delighted most to turn. But the printed page 
cannot reproduce that deep and sustained earnestness, the 
sharp and penetrating eye, the eloquence of silently 
flowing tears of tenderness, sympathy, and love, the 
persuasive, winsome voice, and the deep pathos which 
made him a prince of preachers. These elements can re- 
main only in memory, the heritage of those who heard him. 

As a superintendent in the Church, and as a shepherd 
over the flock of God, Bishop Glossbrenner was a model. 
Here he has had no equal in the Church. Fort}' years he 
was an active bishop in a growing church, being selected 
to this its highest office every four years for this long 
term, and ever with increasing esteem and confidence. 
He died in the office he was so often chosen to fill. Though 
intense in his sympathy for the Church, loyal to its every 
interest, strict in enforcing discipline, and scrupulously 
jealous of every interest and institution of the Church 
he loved, he was yet not an ecclesiastical bigot. Broad 
and catholic in sentiment, and heart, and fellowship, he 
cherished the purest esteem for all evangelical churches 
and Christians, and was at home in any pulpit to which 
he was invited. He not only kept abreast of the times, 
but, conservative as was his nature, he was always in 
the front rank of every progressive movement of the 
Church. When he entered the ministry, the Church had 
no missionary board, no foreign missions, no church 
erection society, no educational institutions, no seminary 
or college, no Sunday-school system or literature, and 



xiv 



INTRODUCTION. 



no printing establishment. He saw these agencies rise 
in the Church one after another in the progress of the 
years. He helped to give origin to these institutions, 
and fostered them and loved them as a father loves his 
child. Though his life and ministry spanned this great 
era of progress, and growth, and new methods, the day 
he fell asleep in Jesus no man had a younger heart than 
he, and none loved the advancing interests of the Church 
more sincereh\ 

Thus, the active ministerial life of Bishop Glossbrenner 
covered a great portion of the most interesting period 
of the history of the Church. His name, and his 
thought, and his toil, are linked with its life and 
progress for half a century, and span this era of its 
marvelous development and growth. He figured con- 
spicuously in the discussions of the great questions 
which have agitated the Church at times during the past 
half century. From this simple fact the biography here 
presented has very great historical value. 

While the memory of Bishop Glossbrenner is held a 
sacred treasure to many personal friends, and most sacredly 
cherished by a devoted family connection, it is as well the 
rightful heritage of the Church in which he labored so long, 
and which he loved so well. He used to say: "In the 
church let me live; in the church let me labor; in the church 
let me die; and in the church, and by the church, let me be 
buried." His message was: "Tell the brethren all is 
well; my home is over there." The Church has a wide 
and undying interest in his life thus spent in its sendee. 

It is a worthy crowning of a life-long friendship of 
peculiar endearment, that Brother John Dodds, whose 
praise is in all the churches, should so diligently and 
liberally devote his attention and means to the memory 



INTRODUCTION. 



XV 



of his friend and ours, as to assume all financial re- 
sponsibility in the gathering of materials and the 
production of this testimonial to the life and labors of 
Bishop Glossbrenner. 

Nothing has been omitted that would give interest and 
value to this volume. Two splendid steel engravings of 
the bishop are given. The frontispiece presents him at 
the age of about sevent}' years, or as he appeared during 
the last term of his service as bishop. The other 
presents him as he was twenty-five years ago, in the 
prime and vigor of life. 

Dr. A. W. Drury, the author of this volume, by the 
research and painstaking investigation, and accuracy of 
statement of fact, for which he is so justly noted, has 
made an invaluable, beautiful, and undying contribution 
to the literature of our Church, and of the country as well. 
He has woven from choicest material a life story of rarest 
interest. He has reproduced with a skillful hand in 
these pages a life of imperishable and holy fame. 

It was not until a short time before his death that 
Bishop Glossbrenner so far deferred to the solicitations of 
his friends as to consent to note down some of the facts 
of his life for use in the preparation of a suitable memoir. 
Of the limited number of pages that he wrote, as also of 
accounts furnished by his intimate friends, the author has 
made a liberal use. 

This volume needs from the writer no commendation, 
either as it relates to the subject or the author; and yet it 
is a pleasing task to snatch from a busy day a moment to 
introduce to the public, and to coming generations, this 
faithful portraiture of the life of one so long and so well 
beloved, and one so highly honored in the church of 
Christ on earth. J. W. Hott. 

February 18, 1889. 



LIFE 

OF 

BISHOP J. J. GLOSSBRENNER. 



CHAPTER T. 

Scope Taken — Family — Training at Home and at School 
— Training from Life — Surroundings. 

The life of every man has primary signifi- 
cance to him that lives it. It takes an added 
significance when it becomes a factor in shaping 
other lives. It rises to a sublime dignity when it 
devotes itself to the glory of God and the highest 
good of fellow-beings. The life of any true man, 
if viewed in connection with the purpose and 
faith which have inspired and sustained it, cannot 
fail to instruct and exalt. In the case of Bishop 
Glossbrenner, in addition to the interest that we 
have in him as an individual and an indefatiga- 
ble toiler, we are led to view him as representa- 
tive of the character and course of the particular 
church with which his whole Christian life was 
so closely identified. This broader view is not 

2 17 



18 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



arbitrary, but natural and warranted by the facts 
involved. Yet what a man himself has done, 
and more particularly what he has been and what 
he has become, must furnish the center point and 
the guiding line for his written life. 

Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner was born in Hagers- 
town, Maryland, July 24, 1812. His parents 
were Peter and Christiana Glossbrenner. The 
founder of the Glossbrenner family in America 
was John Frederick, who landed at Philadelphia 
August 15, 1750. He subscribed his name at 
that time, Johan Friederich Glassbrenner. Like 
most German names, the name Glassbrenner had 
its significance, its meaning being glassburner, the 
one on whom it was first bestowed, being perhaps 
a glass annealer. The home of the family in 
Europe was in Rhenish Prussia. A satirist by 
the name of Adolf Glassbrenner, born in 1810, 
attained considerable distinction in Prussia. At 
least two Glossbrenner families outside of that 
founded by John Frederick Glossbrenner became 
planted in America. 

John Frederick Glossbrenner settled in Berks 
County, Pennsylvania, as early as 1769. The 
names Gottlieb, Frederick, Jacob Frederick, 
Jacob, and Philip appear as the names of his 
sons, all of whom were probably born in America. 
After the death of John Frederick in 1788, the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



lh 



family separated, some of the members going to 
York County, Pennsylvania, and some going 
further west and after awhile finding their way 
to Indiana. Gottlieb, the oldest son, with his wife, 
Margaret, and their family, settled at Hagers- 
town, Maryland. The name Gottlieb Glossbren- 
ner appears in the records of the earliest Lutheran 
Church at Hagerstown as a devout and faithful 
member. He died in 1804. Eight sons and four 
daughters were born to Gottlieb and Margaret 
Glossbrenner. The names of the sons were John 
George, John, J ohn Gottlieb, Abraham, Frederick, 
Jacob, Adam, and Peter. John Gottlieb is be- 
lieved to have gone to New Orleans, and to have 
there died, leaving a large fortune. Abraham, 
Adam, and Peter married at Hagerstown and con- 
tinued to reside there. The other members of 
the large family of Gottlieb Glossbrenner rapidly 
disappeared. 

December 8, 1807, Peter Glossbrenner, the 
father of the subject of this memoir, was married 
to Christiana Shane (Schon), the daughter of 
Henry Shane, the keeper of a tavern in Hagers- 
town. To this union were born four children, 
William, Jacob Adam., Jacob John and Catharine 
Agatha. In the baptismal book of the Lutheran 
Church at Hagerstown the names, with date of 
birth and date of baptism, of all of the children 



20 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



of Peter and Christiana Glossbrenner are found 
with the exception of that of Jacob John. This 
chasm in the record may be due to the confusion 
brought about by the War of 1812, or to the 
fact of a change in the family residence. That the 
baptism of Jacob John took place at the hands 
of a Lutheran minister, either at Hagerstown or 
elsewhere, in infancy or early childhood, is suf- 
ficiently attested. He was probably given by his 
parents the name Jacob John, as given above, 
just as the brother next older was given the name 
Jacob Adam, though in the latter case the name 
Jacob was later placed second in order. The 
same change was made in the former case when 
both names were given in full. The future bishop 
was known as a boy by the name Jacob, and 
sometimes was addressed as a man by the name 
Jacob J. Glossbrenner. In German families it is 
common to find the same name given to more 
than one of the sons in the same family, the name 
repeated generally being the name of the father 
or the father's brother. While the names are 
bestowed thus freely, one of the names is often 
with equal freedom dropped, or the order re- 
versed. The absence of a decisive record has led 
to doubt and confiicting statement as to the year 
of Jacob's birth, though the evidence largely pre- 
ponderates in favor of 1812 as against 1813, the 
year formerly accepted. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



21 



Peter Glossbrenner was a mechanic, or so to 
speak, a manufacturer, his labor being bestowed 
on the manufacture, on his own account, of the 
wood parts of carriages, which he turned over to 
a manufacturing establishment in Hagerstown. 
He was industrious, and honored his trade, and it 
in turn honored him. He was a soldier in the 
War of 1812, serving in a company of artillery, 
and in 1814 took part in the successful defense of 
Baltimore against the British. The Glossbren- 
ners had become thoroughly identified with the 
spirit and institutions of the country in which 
their lot was cast. A cousin of Peter Glossbren- 
ner, also named Peter, served his country as a 
soldier in the hour of need. Peter Glossbrenner, 
with his family, moved, probably in 1815, to 
Montgomery County, Maryland, where he re- 
mained about two years, returning on the death 
of his wife's father. After receiving the share in 
the hotel falling to his wife, he proceeded to buy 
out, one by one, the other heirs. The property 
was not worth more than about one thousand 
dollars, and there were as many heirs as there 
were one hundred dollar shares in the property. 
He built a shop on the same lot with the hotel 
and continued to ply his trade. The hotel busi- 
ness, however, was not entirely relinquished. The 
prospects of the family, considering all of the cir- 



22 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



cumstances belonging to life at that early day, 
were bright and satisfying. They little knew the 
sad events that awaited them. By a distressing 
accident the husband and father was taken away 
from his family. In the year 1819 Peter Gloss- 
brenner was kicked by a horse and died within 
two days. The widowed mother was left with a 
family of four children, ranging from eleven years 
to one year of age. Jacob was in his seventh 
year. The property bought was not yet half paid 
for. The trial and struggle brought out the noble 
qualities of the mother. Ever afterward, and 
with regularity, the name of Christiana Gloss- 
brenner appears on the church record among the 
names of communicants. From necessity the 
sons were early put to trades. William was 
placed in a cabinet-maker's shop, Adam in a 
printing office, and later Jacob in a silversmith's 
shop. The mother continued to make payments 
on the property purchased, paying out on an 
average one share a year, just as her husband had 
begun to do. The children did what they could 
for the support of the family, the sons, in after 
years, relinquishing in favor of their mother all 
claim that they might have had in the property 
secured. 

But the moral and intellectual training of the 
orphan children was of the highest importance, 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



23 



and must here receive our special attention. 
Peter Glossbrenner had been traditionally, rather 
than actively, connected with the Lutheran 
Church. He bore a reputation for honesty and 
solid qualities. He was firm, but kind toward 
his children. He was strict in the requirement 
that they should be regular in attendance at the 
Sabbath-school. At this time Sabbath-schools 
were in their infancy. But the Lutheran Church 
at Hagerstown was fortunate in having as its pas- 
tor, for a period of sixteen years, from 1815 to 
1831, such an active, evangelical minister as Dr. 
Benjamin Kurtz. Dr. Kurtz had strong convic- 
tions as to the possibility and duty of bringing up 
children in an intelligent, godly way. By tongue 
and pen he sought to direct and stimulate the 
moral and religious education of the children of 
the church, and of course was a sincere and active 
friend of Sabbath-schools. Bishop Glossbrenner, 
in after years, confessed to the salutary influence 
of this pious, scholarly, and wise-hearted man. 
It was doubtless largely due to his influence that 
the church at Hagerstown assumed such an evan- 
gelical and earnest character. It was in Hagers- 
town in 1820, and largely under the influence and 
leadership of Dr. D. B. Kurtz, the friend of 
Otterbein, and Dr. Benjamin Kurtz that the 
General Synod of the Lutheran Church, other- 



24 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



wise known as the Evangelical Lutheran body, 
was constituted. Christiana Glossbrenner was 
accustomed to lead her children to the services 
of the church. Parents at that time were not 
accustomed to attend Sabbath-school. She sought 
to bring her children up in a moral and industri- 
ous way, " so that they would not bring discredit 
upon the name of Glossbrenner." She was a 
woman of cheerful disposition, was patient under 
hardship, and was noted for her industry and per- 
severance. After living a widow for a number 
of years, she was married in 1828 to a Mr. David 
Dasher. She died at York, Pennsylvania, at the 
home of her son Adam, at the advanced age of 
eighty-four. 

The secular education of the children of Peter 
and Christiana Glossbrenner was limited in quan- 
tity, but for the time and for the circumstances 
of the family, was fair in quality. The children 
first attended a private school taught by a Mr. 
Ricksecker. Mr. Ricksecker was a Lutheran, 
and the school, while not sectarian, was largely 
under the patronage of Lutherans. Dr. Kurtz 
often came into the school to inquire how the 
children were getting along, and to direct and 
encourage in the work of their education. Mr. 
Ricksecker, while an inconsiderable scholar, took 
great delight in his pupils and seemed to have the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



25 



happy ability to awaken and stimulate them by 
living, sympathetic contact. One of his methods 
was to read something to his pupils and then to 
have them rehearse the same in their own lan- 
guage, a method showing real wisdom and a 
generous, devoted disposition. Years afterward 
going into the office of a newspaper, of which 
one of his pupils was editor, he accosted the 
editor with the words, " You do the writing 
here ?" Receiving an affirmative answer, he 
replied with evident satisfaction, " I taught 
you your letters." While in Mr. Ricksecker'a 
school, Jacob Glossbrenner was apt and studious. 
In some things he excelled, but he welcomed the 
help of his fellow-pupils in " doing his sums." 

From the school of Mr. Ricksecker the children 
of Christiana Glossbrenner went to the school of 
John E. Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman was a much 
better scholar and was better furnished as a 
teacher than Mr. Ricksecker. His school, while 
likewise not sectarian, sustained Reformed con- 
nections. In his work in the school-room he in- 
cluded exercises in mental arithmetic, which at 
that time were quite uncommon, and showed that 
the teacher was not dependent on a* mere practiced 
rote. It was this school-teacher who changed the 
spelling of the family name from Glassbrenner to 
Glossbrenner. Speaking of Bishop Glossbrenner, 



26 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Bishop Weaver has said : " The power of concen- 
tration, which is the master- wheel in the minds of 
the most scholarly men, was strongly developed 
in his mind. How he acquired this wonderful 
power we may never know." May it not be that 
the natural methods and the direct contact of 
these early teachers, the only teachers he ever 
had, may furnish at least a part of the desired 
answer ? 

When fourteen years of age Jacob Glossbren- 
ner's schooling was brought to a close by the 
necessity, or the supposed prudent requirement, 
that he should learn a trade. While going to 
school he had been a part of the time working 
for board and clothes. His education in school 
was confined to what he received in the short 
terms of private school between his ninth and 
fourteenth years. He received instruction in 
nothing outside of the common branches. He 
now began to learn the silversmith and watch- 
making trade with Mr. Arthur Johnson, of 
Hagerstown. He remained with him about two 
years. He afterward pursued his trade for a 
short time with Mr. John Eeynolds, also of 
Hagerstown. 'Mr. Reynolds was a member of 
the Methodist Church, and was noted for his 
sincere and earnest piety. The associates of the 
young apprentice were young people of a respected 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



27 



and self-respecting class. A considerable number 
of them came to be honored and substantial 
citizens. One of them, who is still living, speaks 
of Jacob as a "grand boy." Others speak with 
great tenderness of his warm-hearted and faithful 
friendship. 

We may now notice some of the other members 
of the family. William, the oldest brother, died 
when about thirteen years of age. Adam J. 
Glossbrenner was apprenticed when nine years 
of age to learn the printing business. By his 
indenture he was to receive several months of 
schooling each year. When he reached the age 
of seventeen, he became foreman and manager 
of the Ohio Monitor, published at Columbus, 
Ohio. A year later he held a similar position on 
the Western Telegraph, published at Hamilton, 
Ohio. He soon afterward settled at York, 
Pennsylvania, where, as editor and proprietor of 
a paper, many years of his life were spent. In 
1847 he was elected sergeant-at-arms of the 
National House of Representatives, and was re- 
elected to four successive congresses. He after- 
ward served two terms as a member of the 
National House of Representatives. Of late years 
he has made Philadelphia his home. Catharine 
Glossbrenner was married to a Mr. Andrews. 
She died about 1848. 



28 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



Hagerstown, the home of the Glossbrenner 
family, was founded in 1762, and was one of the 
most interesting and important towns in western 
Maryland. It was then as now the county 
seat of Washington County. The country about 
is hilly and romantic, forming a part of the beau- 
tiful Cumberland Valley. Many Germans at an 
early day settled in Washington County, but the 
English population, always outnumbering the 
German, brought about a rapid transition of the 
German element to the English language and to 
English customs. The mother of Jacob Gloss- 
brenner could Speak the German language 
fairl} T well, but the father spoke it with 
greater difficulty. He himself acquired little 
knowledge of the German from his parents. The 
Reformed and Lutheran churches were early 
established in Hagerstown, and soon after 1800 
the United Brethren began to pay regular visits 
to that place. Hagerstown, though early in the 
century noted for its levity and irreligion, after- 
ward came to share with ail of the other parts of 
Washington County in the manifestation of a large 
measure of religious enthusiasm and activity. 



CHAPTER II. 



Conversion — Joins , the United Brethren Church — Class 
Leader — Exhorter — Preacher — Preparation for the 
Work. 

Up to his twelfth year Jacob Glossbrenner was 
a regular attendant of the services of the Lutheran 
Church. He was much impressed by the earnest 
sermons of the pastor, Dr. Benjamin Kurtz. He 
was specially impressed by the distinctness and 
earnestness with which the doctrine of a change 
of heart was presented. He afterward became 
less concerned and less regular in his attendance 
at church. After he went to his trade he mingled 
with gay associates and "went far from God." He 
was a bright boy, well liked, and strictly moral, 
but the claims of God were largely forgotten. It 
is well that that there are some who become 
distinguished for piety, — many indeed there are, — 
who have not in the first place trampled upon 
their manhood and contaminated by their vices 
the lives of others. 

In his seventeenth year, while learning his trade 
with Mr. Reynolds, he became awakened on the 
subject of religion under the preaching of a 
Methodist minister by the name of Gibbons, but 

29 



30 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



was not at that time converted. His conversion 
occurred several months later at a meeting held by 
Rev. Wm. II. Rhinehart, a minister of the United 
Brethren Church. Mr. Rhinehart was serving 
his first charge under a regular appointment from 
the conference, having been ordained in 1829 and 
at the same time elected as a presiding elder. He 
was also doing the regular work of an itinerant. 
He had become a member of the conference in 
1825, and while not traveling regularly, had 
rendered efficient assistance in many special 
meetings. He was a man of fine physique, 
powerful voice, and unusual preaching talent. 
He had tremendous energy in exhortation. He 
attracted attention everywhere by his wonderful 
power as a singer. In his preaching and in his 
methods he was bold, thorough, and unsparing. 

In the course of the meeting held by him at 
Hagerstown, young Glossbrenner, while inter- 
ested, raised objections to the requirements urged 
and the methods used. He, with some of his 
intimate young friends, wrote a letter to Mr. 
Rhinehart, signing themselves John Paul, or some 
such fictitious name. They stated their objections, 
specially naming the " mourners' bench," and ask- 
ing Mr. Rhinehart publicly to meet the same. He 
gave a sweeping reply from the pulpit. Afterward 
learning that Mr. Glossbrenner was the leader of 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



81 



the company, he labored with him privately and 
succeeded in leading him to the altar and to 
Christ. His young associates followed his 
example, and were likewise converted. 

It is easy for us, in following his life, to 
pass hastily over the fact of his conversion. To 
him the event meant everything of joy and hope. 
It was not a mere turning about or taking the 
course that sober reflection enjoined. It was a 
new creation ; it was the opening of a fountain in 
the heart that never ceased to send forth its 
streams. It was the evoking of a song in the 
soul that sent forth unceasing melody. It was 
a new, conscious experience, a taking hold upon a 
new destiny. His own words, written after his 
race was nearly completed, were : "After exercis- 
ing faith in Christ as my personal Savior I was 
enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full 
of glory." He did* not hesitate to use the language, 
" to get religion," and to urge it as conveying a 
definite sense and as expressive of the privilege 
and duty of all. Some urge the practice of 
religion at the expense of the thought given in 
the well-worn words, " to enjoy religion." "With- 
out disparaging the former, how much better is 
it, in order to bear one's own burden, and help 
those who are without aim, faith, or comfort, if in 
addition to correct practice, the heart is filled with 



32 



LIFE OF GLQSSBRENNER. 



"joy unspeakable." The great facts at the basis of 
evangelical religion in all the ages, and that 
are foremost in the experiences and labors of 
our times — repentance for sin and assurance 
of salvation through faith in Christ — were 
experienced by him in their profoundest mean- 
ing, and became the creed and keynote of his 
life work. 

His conversion may with probability be placed 
in the winter of 1829-30. Having found Christ, he 
now united with the church. Religion is social 
as well as personal. Among those who were 
converted at the same time with himself and 
subsequently with him united with the church, 
were J. M. Hershey, afterward an honored 
minister, Samuel RJhinehart, and Win. IsTowell. 
Among those who came forward as applicants for 
membership at the same time, was a young man 
named George Huzza. When the question was 
asked, "Are there any reasons why the applicants 
should not be received?" an old member of the 
church, a farmer, rose and objected to the recep- 
tion of Huzza. He said that Huzza had bound 
grain for him, and that he was too lazy to bind 
his sheaves well, and that such a person could 
not be a good Christian. Mr. Rhinehart, who 
was officiating, ruled that the objection was not 
relevant, and Huzza was received. Yet the old 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



33 



brothers judgment of character was justified by 
subsequent occurrences. Huzza soon fell into 
sin and afterward was arrested for robbing the 
mails. Mr. Glossbrenner may have gathered 
instruction from the incident; for throughout his 
life, while not derogating from the grace of God, 
he laid great stress, in his relations with ministers, 
on natural, inward honesty and responsibility. 
Persons having this foundation could, w T hen 
saved themselves, be useful in saving others. 
Those defective in this important respect might 
be cared for as sheep, but could not fill the place 
of trusted shepherds. 

At the time when Mr. Glossbrenner was con- 
verted there was wide-spread religious interest 
in western Maryland. Washington County, the 
county in which Hagerstown was situated, 
furnished the center of this interest. Dr. Benjamin 
Kurtz was still the pastor of the Lutheran Church 
in Hagerstown, and preached at many places in the 
surrounding country. Hundreds were converted 
in protracted meetings and camp-meetings held 
by the Methodists. Among the United Brethren 
there was more active effort, more revival 
influence, and more denominational success 
than at any previous period. Washington County 
was the home of George A. Geeting, sen., and 
Christian Newcomer. Here Otterbein's labors 



34 



LIFE OF GLOSSBKENNER. 



had early been bestowed. Here was Antietam, 
where the great meetings were held. 

Newcomer's field lay largely in Frederick 
County, and formed what was called Frederick 
Circuit, or Newcomer's Circuit. The basis for 
Geeting's work was Antietam, now Keedysville, 
including also after a time Hagerstown. The 
outgrowth of his labors was Hagerstown Circuit. 
The first United Brethren church in Hagerstown, 
a two-story log structure, with the audience room 
above, was occupied for the first time May 24, 
1805, Geeting preaching the first sermon. In 
1807 both Geeting and Newcomer ceased to 
confine themselves to the particular fields named, 
and Hagerstown Circuit and Frederick Circuit 
were freely served by various preachers under the 
appointment of the conference. Hagerstown 
Circuit was far the more fixed. Frederick Circuit 
was sometimes merged in it, was sometimes con- 
nected with some other work, and again at times 
maintained its distinct character. A new brick 
church was built at Hagerstown in 1810 on the 
site occupied by the present church. It was in 
this house that Mr. Glossbrenner was converted 
and united with the church. In 1827 and 1828 
E.ev. John Zahn was the preacher on Hagerstown 
Circuit. He was a man. of fine presence, great 
spiritual energy, and native preaching talent. In 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



85 



his term of service there was great progress, and 
the United Brethren congregation must have 
grown greatly in esteem among the citizens of 
Hagerstown. While there are no records showing 
who the preacher was in the year 1829, it is quite 
probable that the preacher in immediate charge 
during this year was Rev. John Krack, who 
certainly had charge of Hagerstown Circuit in 
1830. It is also probable that during 1830, as 
well as 1829, Eev. Wm. R. Rhinehart was the 
presiding elder. Rev. John Krack was a favorite 
as a preacher and as a pastor. Beginning with 
1831 he served the old Otterbein congregation in 
Baltimore, remaining four years. So general was 
the desire for his continued service that his 
removal by the conference well-nigh produced 
schism and revolt. In 1830 Hagerstown Circuit 
was more than twice as strong as any other 
charge in the conference. 

Taking all of these things into account we see 
what was the situation of things when Mr. 
Glossbrenner became a member of the Church. 
They may aid us in understanding the reasons 
for his connecting himself with the church of the 
United Brethren in Christ. It would seem 
natural that he should connect himself with the 
Lutheran Church, the church of his fathers, 
especially in view of the influence of such a man 



36 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRE.NNER. 



as Dr. Benjamin Kurtz. Yet he felt the need of 
more freedom than the Lutheran Church would 
afford. While there was a revival element in the 
Lutheran Church, there yet were diverse and 
opposing elements. This would be inevitable 
from the composition and traditions of the church. 
Rev. Wm. II. Bhinehart was converted in a 
revival in the Lutheran Church; yet when he 
went to the meeting of the. synod, expecting to 
enter the ministry of that church, he was chilled 
and turned away by the formal piety, and 
opposition to revivals characterizing a large 
party in the synod. Though Mr. Glossbrenner 
was a boy in years, he reached his conclusions 
by the awakened reason and elective instincts of 
mature years. His connection with the United 
Brethren Church was not the result of accident but 
of choice; not the choice of calculation, but of pref- 
erence. His decision may not have been the 
right decision for all in like circumstances, but 
no one can doubt that it was the right one for 
him. There was just enough of opposing influence 
to make decision necessary, and the decision then 
declared never afterward came up for review or 
reversal; never came up to vex, weaken, and 
defeat. This carefulness in reaching conclu- 
sions and constancy afterward was thoroughly 
characteristic. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



37 



His first work after becoming connected with 
the church was to serve as leader of a band of 
young persons about his own age. This was 
soon after he united with the church. In after 
years, in looking back to the meetings then 
held, he said: "We had glorious times when in 
our simplicity and singleness of heart we met 
together to sing and pray and encourage one 
another. The Lord met with us and filled us 
unutterably full of glory and of God."' The class 
met once a week and the meetings were well 
attended. The young leader was deeply impressed 
with the responsibility of his position, and was 
thus led to devote himself earnestly to the study 
of God's word. Day and night it was his 
meditation. As he applied the Scriptures to 
the instruction of others, he was himself greatly 
instructed and benefited. Throughout life he 
recognized the great advantage gained by this 
early and devoted study of the Bible. He felt to 
rebnke the sloth of those who do not give careful 
study to the Bible. Ignorance of God's word 
and mutilated quotations he regarded as a just 
ground of reproach. 

Not long after his appointment as a leader, 
while at a camp-meeting in "Washington County, 
Rev. George A. Geeting, without any solicitation 
or even expectation on his part, handed him a 



38 



LIFE OF GLOSiS BRENNER. 



license to exhort. He was told to be faithful as 
an exhorter, and that as he had opportunity, and 
as it was agreeable to the older brethren, he 
might also preach. In that period many who 
became eminent as preachers began their work as 
exhorters. The license to exhort meant labor in 
varied forms — in class and prayer-meetings, in 
closing meetings after the sermons of the regular 
itinerants, and in their absence to till their place. 
Such a license could be given by a quarterly 
conference or by two ordained elders at any 
special meeting. Rev. George A. Geeting, while 
not often chosen presiding elder, held a sort of 
standing commission to the functions of the office 
by the deference in which he was held and by 
the demand for his presence and service. He was 
a son of Rev. George A. Geeting, the friend and 
associate of Otterbein, and lived at the place of 
his father on the Antietam. He was regularly 
and actively engaged as a preacher ten or twelve 
years. Even when not under any appointment 
from the conference, he continued zealously to 
labor till the time of his death in 1842. 

No one need be offended or disquieted at the 
fact that Mr. Glossbrenner was led to assume 
sacred functions without himself first announcing 
that he was moved thereto by an inward call. 
The church is vouchsafed the prompting of the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNEli. 



39 



Holy Ghost, as well as is the candidate. In the 
United Brethren Church, in early days, many 
who became eminent for their usefulness were 
given license without themselves expecting any 
such thing. John Knox, the Scotch reformer, 
was thus chosen. The book of Acts tells us that 
as " certain prophets and teachers " " ministered 
to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 
Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work 
whereunto I have called them." May not the 
dearth of ministers, so often deplored, be in large 
measure due to the fact that the church to so great 
an extent neglects the gift that is in it ? 

This license was the authority on which Mr. 
Glossbrenner continued to exhort and preach 
for the period of one year, from the spring of 
1830 to the spring of 1831. He does not seem 
to have questioned the judgment or right of his 
brethren in giving him license. He was diligent 
and active in the work committed to him. Rev. 
John Krack, who was serving Hagerstown Cir- 
cuit, took him much with him, and was quite 
authoritative and firm in his requirements, but 
withal considerate and discreet. A young man 
was not asked where or when it would suit him 
to preach, or what part of the service he would 
take; but his work was assigned him, and to 
resist was to resist at his peril. Hagerstown 



40 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



Circuit then embraced Washington and Frederick 
counties in Maryland, and Franklin County in 
Pennsylvania. He once accompanied Mr. Brack 
to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and was asked to 
go into the pulpit and exhort. Though he had 
previously preached and often exhorted, this was 
the first time that he occupied a pulpit to talk to 
the people. He entered the pulpit with fear and 
trembling, feeling that he was unworthy to occupy 
so holy a place. The church building was a small 
stone structure with a heavy and capacious, though 
not high, pulpit, which was often occupied by as 
solid a bench of preachers as that day afforded. 

During the year Mr. Glossbrenner frequently 
preached to the colored people of Hagerstown 
and to the inmates of the poor-house. He also 
preached at State Line, at Greencastle, and at the 1 
house of Henry Burtner near Leitersburg. At 
one time he, with several older ministers, went 
out a few miles from Hagerstown to a place 
where an appointment was to be filled. The older 
ministers put up Mr. Glossbrenner to preach. 
The people felt that it was a shame to put up 
" a little boy " when there were older ministers 
present. 

Mr. Glossbrenner soon came to be pointed to 
with a degree of pride as the "boy preacher." 
When he received license he was just entering 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



41 



upon his nineteenth year. He was even more 
youthful in his appearance than would be in- 
ferred from his years. His countenance was 
bright and open, lit up with the light that glowed 
within. While always modest and reserved, he 
was not timid, and had a remarkable degree of 
self-composure. His real strength at this time, 
as largely through life, was in his tenderness of 
heart, and earnest, fervid nature. He loved the 
Savior, and he was confident of the love of the 
Savior toward him. What he experienced for 
himself he was anxious for others also to enjoy. 
He had an extremely realistic conception of 
the great facts in man's condition, and the 
diverse destinies toward which men tend. He 
would " cry and preach and preach and cry." Yet 
his intent study of the Scriptures indicates that 
his emotional nature was moved and supported 
by a grasp upon eternal truth. Notwithstanding 
his unusual success and the encouragements that 
came to him, he was not saved from the dis- 
appointments and even despair that fall to almost 
all who enter upon the work of the ministry. In 
these experiences he sought counsel and support 
from his seniors in the work. 

When he received license his course for the 
time being was ^decided for him. There was no 
demand, however, for any particular amount of 



42 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



his time; nor was he withdrawn from whatever 
his occupation might be. It was now necessary 
for him to decide for himself what his life work 
should be. He felt that he was called of God 
to the work of the ministry. He counseled with 
others and communed with his own heart. At 
one time he proposed to a young associate that 
they make their own appointments, and preach 
and travel on the Lorenzo Dow plan. This would 
mean, in the phrase of our day, to travel as 
evangelists. For a time he assisted in holding 
union prayer-meetings. At different places God 
had blessed his labors in exhortation and preach- 
ing to the conversion of souls. The sweets of 
success in Christian work moved him to give 
himself in the fullest and freest manner to the 
work of the Master. He also came to a clear 
inward and fixed conviction of his call to preach 
the gospel. This conviction, with the decision to 
follow it, passed into the realm of the unques- 
tioned and forever settled. 

Soon after he began to exercise in public, Dr. 
Benjamin Kurtz visited him and offered to put 
within his reach a collegiate education and a 
thorough preparation for the ministry. It was 
understood that his labors should be given to the 
ministry in the Lutheran Church. He appreciated 
the offer of an education, but he felt that it would 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNEK. 



43 



be improper to leave those who had shown such 
care for his well-being, and to whom he stood 
bound by the closest ties. Likewise he believed 
that one called to the ministry should go forth 
immediately. He also shared, to a certain extent, 
the prejudice of those among whom he moved 
against " college-bred preachers." The prejudice 
was due to the close association of education and 
cold formality in the ministry of some of the old 
churches. As time passed he changed his mind 
quite largely on the subject of ministerial educa- 
tion, especially in view of changed times; but he 
never came to the conclusion that the course that 
he took was not the right course for him at the 
time and in the circumstances to take. 



CHAPTER III. 



Attends Virginia Conference — The Field — The Session — 
Joins Conference — Sent to Hagerstown Circuit — Year 
of Success — Elements as a Preacher — Conference of 
1832 — Staunton Circuit — Itinerants' Home — Marriage 
— Conference of 1833 — Ordained — Returned to Staun- 
ton Circuit. 

April 24, 1831 found Mr. Glossbrenner, in 
company with Rev. ¥m. E. Ehinehart, on his 
way to Mill Creek, Shenandoah County, Virginia, 
where Virginia Conference was to hold its first 
separate session. All questions had been settled. 
The last, and perhaps not the least difficult, was 
settled by some good brethren, among whom were 
the Hersheys, of Hagerstown, and the Doups and 
Staleys, of Frederick County, who purchased him 
an outfit — horse, saddle, bridle, and saddle bags 
— the property of a deceased Methodist preacher. 
Does anyone suppose that they ever regretted this 
generous deed? When he started on horseback 
to the conference, he took with him all that he 
possessed. When he put the Potomac River 
between himself and his old home and began to 
ascend the grand valley of Virginia, he felt that 
a new hope and a new course were before him. 

44 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



45 



Prior to 1829 there were but four conferences in 
the United Brethren Church — Miami, Scioto, Mus- 
kingum, and the old conference in the East. The 
General Conference of 1829 authorized the 
division of Miami Conference, and also of the 
old conference in the East. All of the ministers 
belonging to the latter, however, met together 
once more in 1880. In the division, the one side 
was called the Hagerstown and the other the 
Harrisburg District; but after four years the 
names, Virginia Conference and Pennsylvania 
Conference, appear. Up to 1837 Frederick 
County, according to the terms of the division, 
belonged to Pennsylvania Conference, but it was 
practically retained from the first by Virginia 
Conference. Pennsylvania Conference, as con- 
stituted, was about one third stronger than 
Virginia Conference, and inherited a field more 
favorable for cultivation and extension. The 
antiquity of the old conference was sliced length- 
wise, as Virginia Conference held Washington 
County, and, in fact also Frederick County, in 
Maryland, while Pennsylvania Conference re- 
ceived Baltimore. Outside of Maryland the 
only territory of Virginia Conference was the 
Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. 

Between 1820 and 1830 the German and the 
English languages stood on about the same foot- 



46 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENXER. 



ing, but after 1830 and 1881, in the United 
Brethren Church both east and west, the 
English language rapidly supplanted the German. 
In Maryland and Virginia the German was 
less firmly planted than in Pennsylvania, and 
was correspondingly less enduring. The division 
of the old conference made the Virginia side 
predominantly English. The work of the church, 
however, continued to be largely confined to 
people of German origin. The church at this time 
was entering on a new era. Virginia Conference 
set sail with about twenty ministers in attendance 
at the first session. It had in its possession in 
Maryland two and one half church houses, and 
the use of two union church houses in addition. 
In Virginia it had one church building and a half 
interest in another. The actual lay membership 
was disproportionately small, as compared with 
the number of ministers. At many of the preach- 
ing places there were no enrolled members, and 
at other places the preachers were satisfied with 
a mere nucleus of actual members. The open 
field, much of which was in a state of destitution 
and neglect, pleaded for assistance with all of the 
eloquence that could be breathed by famishing 
and dying souls. 

The conference met at Hickle's school-house, 
on Mill Creek, April 27, 1831, Bishop Henry 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



47 



Kumler presiding. There was but one bishop in 
the church now, as Bishop Newcomer had died 
the year previous. Bishop Kumler had united 
with the old conference at a session held in 
Hagerstown in 1814, had served as bishop since 
1825, and was at this time fifty-six years of age. 
He was a man of neat appearance, had an experi- 
ence and convictions of his own, and, while not 
demonstrative, was persistent and firm. He was 
intelligent, prudent, and impressed all with whom 
he came in contact that he was charged with a 
mission from God. He was a sincere and faithful 
preacher, rather than a great preacher. He had 
the talent, energy, and perseverance required by 
the field over which he presided as bishop. Of 
the ministers already named, Wm. R. Rhinehart, 
J. Krack, G. A. Geeting, and J, Zahn were 
present. Henry Burtner, who became a member 
of conference in 1821, a man of solid worth, was 
also present. Mr. Burtner, whiie he labored as 
an itinerant, was very successful, and afterward 
as a local preacher he was scarcely less useful. 
He resided not far from Hagerstown, and early 
took a friendly interest in Mr. Glossbrenner. 
Rev. J. Houck was also a leading spirit. Rev. 
George Patterson had the character and influence 
that came from a longer term of service. Of those 
who composed that little conference in 1831, one 



48 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



venerable man remains, Rev. John Haney, of 
Marion, Minnesota. Rev. George Hoffman, an- 
other member of that conference, died at Mt. 
Solon, Virginia, in 1888. They both became 
members of conference in 1830. 

The first part of the session was occupied with 
the examination of ministers. This meant that 
they should declare their heart experience and 
their intentions for the future, as well as the 
struggles through which they may have passed 
in endeavoring to build up the kingdom of God. 
When the question was asked, AVho are the 
candidates for the ministry? the names of "Win. 
Miller, J. J. Glossbrenner, Frederick Hisey, and 
Jacob Haas were presented. The committee for the 
examination of candidates consisted of Henry Burt- 
ner, J. Krack, and George Patterson. The report 
was favorable, and all of the candidates were 
admitted. It was not then necessary that a 
candidate should have had license previously, or 
that he should have a formal recommendation; 
but it was necessary that the presiding elders or 
other responsible members of the conference 
should have good knowledge of his ability and 
fitness. 

During the session Mr. Glossbrenner preached 
once in Mt. Jackson, near which place the con- 
ference was held. It was his first sermon in 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



49 



Virginia. When lie was received into the 
conference, he had not jet completed his 
nineteenth year. His youth did not stand for a 
moment in his way, as there was that in his 
manner and bearing that drew to him the hearts 
of the older ministers-, and disarmed all opposi- 
tion. The ministers of Virginia Conference 
were almost all young men, and by these and 
other young men who would soon join them, the 
conference was to take its place in the foremost 
rank in building up the kingdom of Christ. 

While in attendance at the session of the 
conference, Mr. Glossbrenner's home was with 
Mr. Andrew Funkhouser, whose memory is 
sacredly treasured by all of the United Brethren 
congregations in Virginia. An old gentleman, 
then a boy living in the neighborhood, relates 
that he became much interested in Mr. Gloss- 
brenner while he was present at this session of the 
conference. He noticed the excellent care that he 
took of his pony. When others were praising the 
qualities of their horses, he claimed that his horse 
could outtravel any of them. When Mr. Gloss- 
brenner preached at Mt. Jackson, his new 
acquaintance went to hear him, and was greatly 
surprised and delighted with the sermon. 

At this session a strong temperance resolution 
was presented by Wm. R. Rhinehart and adopted 



50 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



by the conference. In the same connection it was 
resolved that if Conrad Weist should not " quit 
selling liquor and preach more," his " license 
should be demanded." 

■ Mr Glossbrenner's name was at once placed on 
the itinerant list, there being five names on the 
list besides his own. The appointments for the 
ensuing year were as follows: Hagerstown Cir- 
cuit, J. J. Glossbrenner, witli Wm. R. Rhinehart, 
senior preacher and presiding elder; Mechanics- 
town Circuit, Wm. Miller, with G. A. Geeting, 
presiding elder; Staunton and Woodstock circuits, 
^oah Woodyard, J. Haney, and Jacob Hauck, 
with J. Zahn, presiding elder. Conference ad- 
journed after a session of four days. 

Mr. Glossbrenner was greatly surprised when 
it was announced that he was to return to 
Maryland and labor on Hagerstown Circuit. As 
before indicated, he had taken everything that he 
had with him, expecting that his work would be 
in Virginia. By an arrangement of the presiding 
elders in Maryland, the Hagerstown and Me- 
chanicstown circuits were united and served as 
one. Mechanicstown Circuit, so called from a 
small town in the northern part of Frederick 
County, corresponded in the main to Frederick 
County, as Hagerstown Circuit corresponded in 
the main to Washington County. The circuit, as 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



51 



finally arranged, had thirty appointments, and a 
period of four weeks was required for one round. 
The itinerants had two days' rest in four weeks. 
At most of the appointments the meetings were 
held in private houses or school-houses. Mr. 
Bliinehart did active itinerant service outside of 
his duties as presiding elder. Mr. Miller, the 
colleague of Mr. Glossbrenner, was a fine preach- 
er, and Mr. Rhinehart was very popular; and from 
some cause, more or less evident, the two did not 
get along pleasantly. As Mr. Glossbrenner was 
hut a boy, he got along smoothly, being, as he said, 
too insignificant to excite envy or jealousy. 

Pie was everywhere greeted as the "boy preach- 
er." One of his appointments was at Rocky 
Springs, near Frederick City. When Mr. Cor- 
nelius Staley, one of the leading members, 
came for the first time to hear him, he doubted 
the wisdom of the conference in sending such a 
boy. He listened attentively, however, and from 
that time till the day of his death he regarded Mr. 
Glossbrenner with the highest esteem, and treated 
him with the greatest kindness. The meetings 
at this place were in the house of Father Valentine 
Doup. Naturally the preacher often staid over 
night with Father Doup. The only objection 
Mr. Glossbrenner had to him was that he came 
to his room every morning with a candle, summer 



52 



LIFE OF GLOSSBHENNER. 



and winter alike, at four o'clock, and said, 
" Jacob, it is time to get up." This he did, not- 
withstanding Jacob might have preached three 
times the day before, and might then have sat up 
late to study his books. The course of Father 
Doup was an advantage in one way, however, as 
it gave the young preacher additional time for 
study. The society at this place was not large, 
but it comprised some of the best members with 
whom the church has been favored — the Doups, 
Cronises, Staleys, Kemps, and others. It was 
in this neighborhood that the first regular annual 
conference was held in the year 1800. 

When Mr. Glossbrenner made his first visit to 
Mechanicstown he rode up to the house of Mr. 
Weller, the usual stopping-place for preachers. 
Mr. Weller came out to see what was wanted. 
Mr. Glossbrenner told him that he was the junior 
preacher and had come to fill his appointment. 
Mr. Weller looked at him critically and then said, 
"I do not know what the conference means by 
sending out boys to preach." But after the first 
sermon no one could gather a better congregation 
than the " boy as he was called. 

Mr. Glossbrenner's own words give us a glimpse 
of the year's work from his own standpoint. 
"My first year in the itinerancy was a year of hard 
labor, but we had some precious revivals. Hav- 



LITE uf GLOSSBKENNER. 



53 



ing as many appointments as I bad, the question 
arises, what time had I for reading and prepara- 
tion for the pulpit. I did much of my reading in 
the saddle, and at night when the toils of the day 
were over? I was young and inexperienced and 
was looked upon as the boy preacher. Of course 
the brethren did not expect much and so did not 
feel disappointed." 

It may be said that no difference what expec- 
tations they may have had, their expectations 
were always more than realized. Mr. Glossbren- 
ner as a preacher started out very much as he 
continued, and as he was known in after years. 
He may have been more emotional, and of course 
was less perfect in his comprehension of doctrine, 
but the type of his preaching was the same. The 
great secret of his early success in preaching was 
in this, that his thought, his experience, the 
mission on which he was sent, and the occasions 
that he met were in perfect accord. There was 
in his preaching nothing arbitrary, nothing con- 
trived. He was in accord with the particular 
stage of the church, with the condition of society, 
with himself, and with God. It is to be feared 
that iu our day many young ministers spoil 
themselves for enjoyment and efficiency in the 
ministry, by their disregard and contempt for 
the subtle conditions upon which joy and success 



54 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



in the ministry depend. The minister should 
be himself, and should speak and work straight 
out from an open, throbbing heart, and should 
not be dependent for his inspiration on extra- 
neous considerations. Under the good providence 
of God Mr. Glossbrenner was so placed as to 
have the benefit of the free actings of his own 
heart, and through life he was spared the calamity 
of losing this position of advantage. The Holy 
Spirit moves on the lines of our thought and 
thrones himself in the permanent and normal af- 
fections of men. With some, effort, education, and 
practice may be necessary to enable them to come 
into a natural, vital, and telling relation to things. 
He was at home in his work from the beginning. 
The salary of an unmarried preacher at this time 
was eighty dollars, and of a married preacher one 
hundred and sixty dollars. Xot always, though, 
were these amounts collected. 

In 1882 the conference convened at Hagers- 
town. Henry Kumler was again present as 
bishop. J. M. Hershey and George Ryrnal were 
received into the conference. They were valuable 
additions to the itinerant force of the conference. 
The appointments were as follows: Hagerstown 
Circuit, John Dorcas and Peter Whitzel with Wm. 
R. Rhinehart and H. Burtner as presiding elders; 
Woodstock Circuit, J. Hanev: Staunton Circuit. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



00 



J. J. Glossbrenuer and J. M. Hershey. George 
Patterson was presiding" elder for the two circuits 
in Virginia. 

Mr. Glossbrenuer received his appointment 
cheerfully. Staunton Circuit included the upper 
part of the Shenandoah Valley, including par- 
ticularly parts of Rockingham, Augusta and 
Rockbridge counties. The circuit was about two 
hundred miles around. Traveling in Virginia at 
this time was romantic. The Shenandoah Valley 
is one of the grandest valleys in our grand 
domain. It lies between the Blue Ridge range 
on the one side and ranges belonging to the 
Allegheny system on the other, and is 
traversed by the Shenandoah River. The valley 
is diversified by hills and level tracts. The 
Massanutten range springs up abruptly out of the 
middle of the valley and after continuing for forty 
miles as abruptly subsides to the common level. 
This range lies between the north and south 
branches of the Shenandoah River. For the year 
1832 the preachers in the lower part of the valley 
and the preachers in the upper part of the valley 
interchanged to a certain extent in their work. 
Rev. ~Wm. R. Coursey became the colleague of 
Rev. John Haney in the lower valley. At certain 
points in their trips up and down the valley the 
young preachers would meet. While not disposed 



56 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



to be light in their intercourse, they yet took 
great pleasure in their journeys and in their 
contact one with another. 

The lower part of the valley was settled largely 
by Germans from Pennsylvania. Some German 
families also settled early in the upper valley. 
The upper valley was, however, more largely 
occupied by a population of Scotch-Irish, also 
from Pennsylvania. All along the valley, though, 
the earlier Virginia population poured over the 
eastern range of mountains and gave their partic- 
ular cast to these accessions from Pennsylvania. 
Thus the whole people, by degrees, came to be 
fashioned after the typical Virginia mold. 

Mr. Glossbrenner was entirely new to all of the 
people on the circuit, and had again to pass 
through all of the curiosity and wonderment of 
being the boy preacher. The first time that he 
came to Church ville, a brother-in-law of Rev. 
George Hoffman came with him to show him the 
way. The church at Church ville, a fair brick 
building, was owned by the United Brethren and 
Methodists jointly. The Methodists were holding 
their quarterly meeting at Church ville, but the 
Methodist presiding elder said that the United 
Brethren preacher should have his hour. A 
laro-e audience was assembled. When Mr. Gloss- 
brenner rose to speak, the man who had come 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



57 



along to pilot him put his hands to his face, but 
as Mr. Glossbrenner proceeded, he withdrew 
them altogether. When the services were closed, 
the presiding elder came around to the man, and 
said: "You need not be ashamed of that boy. 
He will make a strong preacher." A number of 
similar incidents could be given. At one place a 
good sister praised him extravagantly to his face. 
Afterward a brother, known as Billy Edwards, 
fearing the effect of such praise, said to him that 
he should not be influenced by such flattery. 
" Oh," said Mr. Glossbrenner, " such words go in 
at one ear and out at the other." 

Speaking of Mr. Hershey and himself, Mr. 
Glossbrenner said: " We spent the year pleasant- 
ly together. We had a prosperous year." 

The house of Christian Shuey, about seven 
miles from Churchville, was a home for the 
preachers, about all the home that the two young 
itinerants needed. His father's house had like- 
wise been a rendezvous for the early United 
Brethren preachers. Christian Shuey was a 
noble-looking man, wealthy and generous, a 
typical Virginian of the higher class. In his 
house there was a room known as the preachers' 
room. Here they would remain, rest, and study 
in the time between their rounds. Here they left 
their soiled clothes and found them again in good 



58 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



order awaiting their return. The wife of Christian 
Shuey was the daughter of Henry Geeting, who 
was the son of George A. Geeting, the co-laborer 
of Otterbein. She took great interest in religion 
and the work of the church. She would not only 
attend the camp-meetings, but she would arrange 
to take a great many of her neighbors and friends 
with her. While at Christian Shuey's Mr. Gloss- 
brenner was very studious. He had a small stock 
of books which he left at the house. Other 
books he would take with him. He was quiet 
and reserved. 

During the year there sprang up a mutual re- 
gard between Mr. Glossbrenner and Maria M., the 
daughter of Christian Shuey. It may have been 
love at first sight, as they were married after an 
acquaintance of less than a year. The marriage 
took place Feb. 14, 1833, Kev. John Zahn 
officiating. The union was a perfect union of 
hearts, and the blending of two lives into one was 
never more complete. The marriage was in 
many ways advantageous to Mr. Glossbrenner, 
while Mrs. Glossbrenner, who declined the hand 
of a wealthy suitor, never regretted the prefer- 
ence that she gave. He was twenty years of age, 
and she was three years his junior. They took a 
wedding trip on horseback. Mrs. Glossbrenner 
afterward, referring to it, said: "We started oft 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENJSTER. 



59 



two of the greenest, but two of the happiest 
persons alive." For about a year they made 
their home with Mrs. Glossbrenner" s father. Mr. 
Glossbrenner, referring to his early marriage, 
said: " There is a notion that ministers especially 
should not marry young. It is my opinion, often 
expressed, that if a minister marries a suitable 
wife — one who is pious and self-sacrificing, and 
who is willing to submit to toil and privation for 
Christ's sake- — he cannot marry too young. But 
if he makes a bad choice, he is too young though 
he be forty years old." 

Mrs. Glossbrenner afterward traveled with her 
husband one or more times around his circuit. 
The vehicle in common use at that time was a 
two-wheeled gig, which furnished a rather luxu- 
rious mode of traveling for the times. Traveling 
in this way Mr. and Mrs. Glossbrenner, at the end 
of the year, set out for Maryland to attend the 
session of Virginia Conference. They made a 
short visit at Iiagerstown where Mr. Glossbrenner 
preached. Mrs. Glossbrenner wore a dress of 
black silk with white lace cuffs. He thought it 
too stylish, and feared that the people would think 
her proud. He wished the lace removed, but she 
made excuses and finally said she had no scissors. 
He kindly offered to grant her the use of his 
penknife for removing the objectionable lace. 



60 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



The part of the faithful itinerant's wife, with its 
privations and sacrifices, so connects itself with 
the work that he has to do, as to suggest the 
propriety of her being granted a place in the 
conference with him. It certainly seems suitable 
that the young wife should have the initiation 
that comes from accompanying her husband to 
the conference. Especially at the first conference 
is she the interested and interesting one. 

The third session of Virginia Conference was 
held at Pleasant Valley. Maryland, near the 
present Rohrersville, beginning April 17, 1833, 
Bishop Henry Kumler presiding. In the neigh- 
borhood where the session was held there had 
been, under the labors of Rev. John Dorcas, a 
great revival in which more than one hundred 
persons were converted, many of them being 
leading persons in the community. At this 
session William R. Coursey and George A. Sbuey 
were received. Mr. Coursey, who had been a 
school teacher, had entered upon ministerial work 
the year previous, becoming the colleague of Rev. 
J. Haney on Woodstock Circuit. He was destined 
to be a great power in building up the Church in 
Virginia and Maryland. George A. Shuey was 
the brother-in-law of Mr. Glossbrenner. He had 
received a good education, and was an acceptable 
preacher. He did not travel actively many years; 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



61 



but as an example of an earnest, faithful Christian, 
as a trusted counselor, and as an intelligent 
supporter of the church, he will be held in honored 
memory. 

Mr. Glossbrenner, along with J. Houck and 
George Hoffman was, ordained at this session. At 
this time ordination was conferred, if the candi- 
dates were worthy, after a probation of two years 
in the conference. Bishop Xumler, assisted by 
Rev. William Brown, who within a month was 
himself elected to the office of bishop, officiated 
in the ordination. Bishop Kumler and Rev. 
William Brown had both been ordained by Bishop 
^Newcomer, the former in 1816, and the latter in 
1819. Bishop Eewcomer himself had been 
ordained by Otterbein in 1813. Through this line 
how many now may trace their ordination. Of 
this session Mr. Glossbrenner says: "This was a 
very important and solemn session, as it was at 
this conference that I was ordained elder in the 
church of Christ. It was to me one of the most 
solemn days of my life. To answer the important 
questions proposed is to assume grave responsibil- 
ities as ministers of Jesus Christ. The vows then 
made are recorded in heaven." 

The following are the appointments: Hagers- 
town Circuit, John Dorcas and ~W\ R. Coursey; 
Woodstock Circuit, P. Whitzel and W. Knott; 



62 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER, 



South Branch Circuit, J. M. Hershey; Staunton 
Circuit, J. J. Glossbrenner and George Rymal. 
Wm. Brown was presiding elder in Maryland, 
and John Haney was the presiding elder in 
Virginia. George Rymal, the associate of Mr. 
Glossbrenner, was a giant in body and likewise 
possessed of a powerful mind. He once grasped 
a powerful colored man who had threatened to 
whip him, and held him in his hands as helpless 
as an infant, while he told him that unless he 
would behave himself he would pitch him over 
the precipice on the brink of which they stood. 
While not cultured, his strong sense and great 
energy made him as a preacher highly effective, 
often simply overwhelming. Mr. Glossbrenner 
found him a pleasant companion and a good 
worker. The year was prosperous. 

Mr. Glossbrenner was not in the distinctive 
sense a revivalist. Yet he made the conversion 
of the people a direct aim, and God blessed his 
labors with frequent and genuine revivals. In a 
quite equal manner, he prepared communities for 
a true work of grace, promoted revivals directly, 
and built up those that were gathered into the 
church. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Conference of 1834— Elected Presiding Elder — Staunton 
District — Re-Elected Presiding Elder in 1835, 1836 and 
1837 — Incidents — Sent to Shiloh Mission in 1838 and 
Returned in 1839 — In 1840 and 1841 on Frederick Cir- 
cuit — In 1842 Presiding Elder on Maryland District — 
Incidents from His Maryland Work — In 1843 on Rock- 
bridge Circuit — In 1844 and 1845 Assigned to Staunton 
Circuit — Character as a Preacher — Personal Elements 
— Sermon at Franklin — Support of Church Interests — 
Extracts from Published Articles — Home Eife. 

The conference of 1834 was held at Churchville, 
Virginia. At this conference Rev. Wm. Brown 
appeared as bishop. Since the division of the old 
conference he had labored a part of the time in 
Pennsylvania Conference. From 1825 to 1828 he 
preached for the Otterbein congregation at Bal- 
timore. In 1833 he was elected bishop. He rep- 
resented the best type of the preachers in the 
German-English stage of the church, being a 
man of sturdy sense, firm convictions, and 
exhibiting the discipline and strength coming 
from earnest conflict. One of the new members 
admitted was Jacob Bachtel, one of the most 
original, positive, and laborious ministers raised 
up by the United Brethren Church. Twelve 

63 



64 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



preachers were willing to labor as itinerants. The 
conference adopted a resolution, introduced by 
Rev. W. R. Rhinehart, looking to the publication 
of a religious paper under the auspices of Virginia 
Conference. The result was the publication at 
Hager&town, Maryland, of a few numbers under 
the name Union Messenger, afterward Mountain 
Messenger, Rev. W. R. Rhinehart, editor. 

At this session Mr. Glossbrenner was elected 
presiding elder and assigned to the Staunton 
District. The mode of his election was quite 
novel. In early times the sessions of conference 
were in the middle of the week. The bishop 
chose his own day and hour for preaching the 
conference sermon. It was the method of the 
discipline for the bishops to nominate the presid- 
ing elders and, when elected, to assign them their 
districts. At this time Bishop Brown, just as he 
was ascending the pulpit steps to preach the con- 
ference sermon, turned half about and said: "I 
move that Bro. Glossbrenner be presiding elder. 
All that are favorable say Aye." Bro. Gloss- 
brenner was elected, for the negative was not put. 

A fact in the early history of the church 
as little understood as any other, is that the 
first ministers of the United Brethren Church 
were primarily local ministers. Bishop Asbury 
criticised this feature. It was this that was the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



65 



principal thing in preventing a union with the 
Evangelical Association in 1813. The presiding 
elders continued to be of the local class after the 
other preachers became more strictly itinerants. 
In 1823 the old conference chose seven presiding 
elders, all of whom were local except one. Mr. 
Glossbrenner, just as some before him had been, 
was an itinerant at the same time that he was a pre- 
siding elder. As more came to be expected of the 
presiding elder, the office came to imply more of 
distinction. In itself the office was responsible, 
as the presiding elders, with the bishop, appointed 
the preachers to their fields of labor. When Mr. 
Glossbrenner was elected presiding elder, he was 
not yet twenty-two years of age. His modest 
manner, as well as his zeal and talents, marked 
him as a proper recipient for whatever of honor 
and trust there was to bestow. 

Speaking with reference to this period of his 
life, he says: " I had about sense enough to hear 
with respect the advice and counsel of my older 
brethren. Now, however, it is too often the case 
that young men taken into the conference are 
hardly warm in their seats till they act and speak 
as though they had little respect for the counsel 
of the aged and experienced. Oh, how important 
is the grace of humility in young ministers. He 
that humbleth himself shall be exalted, while he 



66 LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 

that exalteth himself shall be abased." Later in 
life a young minister wrote to him, asking what 
he should do to become prominent in the church. 
He answered that if he desired to rise in influ- 
ence and desired to fill important positions, his 
best plan was to be humble and fill faithfully 
whatever positions were assigned him, and in due 
time the church would say, Come up higher. The 
young preacher seems to have profited by the 
advice, for he afterward came to fill the position 
of bishop. 

Staunton District embraced Woodstock, Staun- 
ton, and South Branch circuits and Winchester 
Mission. A presiding elder was to travel through 
his district and preach as often as possible. He 
was to appoint the quarterly and great meetings 
and if possible attend them. He was to examine 
whether the traveling and local preachers did 
their duty ; was to change the local preachers, if 
benefit were likely to result, and to change also 
the traveling preachers, if it should seem advisable. 

The fifth session of Virginia conference was 
held at Hickle's school-house on Mill Creek, 
beginning March 18, 1835, William Brown again 
presiding. Six new members were received and 
sixteen preachers were willing to take regular 
work. Mr. Glossbrenner was continued presiding 
elder on Staunton district. The district was 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



67 



enlarged by the formation of two new missions. 
Of the district at this time Mr. Glossbrenner says : 
" The Virginia district extended from Rockbridge, 
Virginia, to the Potomac River, and westward to 
the Ohio River, from east to west three hundred 
miles, and from north to south about one hundred 
miles. The traveling on the district was done on 
horseback. During the year five campmeetings 
were held." The salary for the year was ninety- 
five dollars. 

March 19, 1836, Virginia Conference met at the 
Geeting meeting-house in Washington County, 
Maryland, Bishop Samuel Hiestand presiding. 
Bishop Hiestand was born in Virginia in 1782, but 
his ministerial career began while he was a 
resident of Ohio. He was noted for his exemplary 
character. As a preacher he was practical and 
edifying. This conference session included a 
Sabbath, but the conference sermon was not 
preached till the following Wednesday. Mr. 
Glossbrenner was re-elected presiding elder and 
returned to Staunton district. The district 
included a new mission, now regularly recognized, 
in Jackson County, on the Ohio River. The 
work within the conference territory was rapidly 
extending. Mr. Glossbrenner' s salary for this year 
was one hundred and ten dollars and thirty-one 
cents. The seventh session of Virginia Confer- 



68 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



ence was held in Bethel meeting-house, near the 
present village of Chewsville, Washington County, 
Maryland, beginning March 20, 1837, Bishop 
Hiestand again presiding. Mr. Glossbrenner was 
re-elected presiding elder and assigned to Staun- 
ton district for the fourth year. Winchester 
Circuit was now included in Maryland district, 
but Staunton district was enlarged by a new 
mission formed in Pendleton County. 

Mr. Glossbrenner's greatest hardships were in 
attending to the requirements of the work on the 
Ohio River. Much of the way he followed a 
bridle path through a sparsely settled country. 
But a more hospitable people he never met. In 
many neighborhoods the people had preaching 
but seldom, and were anxious to hear the gospel. 
On one of his trips to attend quarterly meetings 
on the Ohio River, he stayed all night with a very 
clever family who cared for him well and would 
take no pay, but insisted that he should leave an 
appointment for preaching on his return. He 
made his arrangements accordingly. On his 
return, after a long ride on the day when he 
expected to meet his engagement, high waters 
having interfered with the speed on which he had 
counted, darkness overtook him and he was 
unable to find his way. He tied his horse to the 
bushes, took his saddle for a pillow, and used his 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



69 



saddle blanket for a covering. The wilderness 
was infested with wild animals, but he passed the 
night unmolested. In the morning he found a 
path that led him by early breakfast time to the 
place where he had intended to preach. He and 
his horse were well cared for, and he started 
homeward with a thankful heart. 

At another time when on his- way to these 
distant missions, after a hard day's ride, he called 
at a cabin and asked lodging for the night. The 
surroundings were not promising, but darkness 
was coming on and he dared not undertake to go 
further. The man of the house said that he might 
stay and that they would do the best they could 
for him. He saw that his horse was well secured 
in a rail pen, and then went into the house tired 
and hungry. The good woman of the house 
proceeded to get him some supper, and he watched 
her movements anxiously. She in the first place 
baked a large corn cake, and then went out and 
got a tin of milk and placed it on the table. 
Now, he thought, with the corn-dodger and a 
pint of milk he could have a good supper. But 
alas, the milk was fresh from the cow and he could 
not drink it. So his supper consisted of the corn- 
dodger, and he was thankful for that. He could 
not imagine where he should sleep. The house 
included kitchen, dining-room, bed-room and 



70 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



parlor all in one room. The parents occupied the 
only bed in the room. The children were tucked 
away in a sort of trundle-bed, and his bed con- 
sisted of a bear skin in the corner. He arose well 
refreshed and went on his way thankful that he 
had had a place to rest his weary head. 

The eighth session of Virginia Conference met 
March 21, 1838, at Shiloh Church in Augusta 
County, Virginia. This was in the Christian 
Shuey neighborhood. The United Brethren 
worshiped at this time in a union church. After- 
ward Bethlehem Church was built by the United 
Brethren. Bishop Hiestand presided. At this 
session Jacob Markwood was admitted. No pen 
can adequately describe the 'character and career 
of Mr. Markwood. When received, he was little 
past his nineteenth year. He was impetuous and 
persevering. Nothing could daunt him. He was 
so generous that he would give away his "last 
cent, and would even divide his clothes with one 
in need. His fiery eloquence, scathing denuncia- 
tion, and relentless logic bore down all opposition. 
No one has had more enthusiastic admirers, or 
has written his name deeper in the hearts of the 
people. Though a few years the junior of Mr. 
Glossbrenner, he soon took a place at his side in 
the earnest work of the conference. At this 
session Virginia Conference formed a home mis- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



71 



sionary society. Years before this, however, Mr. 
Glossbrenner was eu^a^ed in the work of collect- 

O CD 

ing missionary money. 

He was now appointed to Shiloh Mission, the 
principal appointments of which were at Shiloh 
Church and at Churchville. Other appointments 
in Augusta and Rockbridge counties were also 
included. The Shiloh appointment was especially 
strong and aspired to have something to do in 
choosing its preacher, and desired more frequent 
services. It now obtained preaching once in two 
weeks instead of once in four weeks. After being 
away from home so much of the time and having 
to travel such long distances, the appointment to 
Shiloh Mission would be a great relief. Besides 
this was his home work. 

The ninth session of Virginia Conference was 
held at Jerusalem Church, Frederick County, 
Maryland, February 25, 1839, Bishop J. Erb pre- 
siding. Bishop Hiestand had died during the year. 
Bishop Erb was serving his first term as bishop. 
He became a member of the old conference in 1823 
at a session held in Frederick County, Maryland. 
He was a skilled organizer, and' did much for the 
promotion of the general work of the church. At 
this session J. Reubush was received. He proved 
to be an untiring itinerant, a great revivalist, and 
a veteran missionary. 



72 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Mr. Glossbrenner was returned to Shiloh 
Mission. During his period on this mission, he 
held along with Dr. Biddle, of the Lutheran 
Church, an extensive revival meeting at Church- 
ville. Dr. Biddle was then young in the ministry, 
and in demonstrations of enthusiasm went beyond 
Mr. Glossbrenner. He became the first president 
of Roanoke College. The mission prospered. As 
reported in the minutes of 1840, " Shiloh Mission 
had supported its preacher the last two years." 
The name was now changed to Rockbridge 
Circuit. 

February 3, 1840, the conference again, for the 
third time in ten years, met at Hickle's school- 
house in Shenandoah County, Virginia, Bishop Erb 
presiding. By this conference, Mr. Glossbrenner. 
with George A. Shuey as assistant, was placed on 
Frederick circuit, in Maryland. In the beginning 
of the year, before going to their new field, Mr. 
Glossbrenner and Mr. Shuey conducted, for the 
most part, a precious revival meeting at Shiloh 
appointment on their home work. Two camp- 
meetings were held in Maryland this year — 
one near Frederick City, and the other near 
Boonsboro. The latter was specially successful. 
Rev. George A. Shuey, in a report of the meeting, 
said: " Such pointed preaching, such pungent 
convictions, such agonizing mourners, and such 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



73 



clear conversions are rarely witnessed." Fifty- 
seven joined the church. 

The next conference was held at Eocky Springs, 
on Frederick circuit, beginning February 22, 1841. 
Mr. Glossbrenner was returned to Frederick 
Circuit for another year. He had no assistant. 
He was called upon this year to preach the 
funeral sermon of Rev. George A. Geeting, who 
died at his home in Washington County, Mary- 
land, at the age of sixty-one. The funeral 
sermon was very impressive and full of con- 
solation. Mr. Geeting had been looked upon 
for years as a father by his associates in the 
conference. On Frederick circuit Mr. Gloss- 
brenner met with the friends who had encouraged 
him in his first efforts in the ministry ten years 
before. The work during this second period of 
service was pleasant and successful. 

The next session of conference met at Spring 
Hill, Augusta County, Virginia, April 4, 1842, 
Bishop Erb presiding. By this conference Mr. 
Glossbrenner was made presiding elder and placed 
on the Maryland district, which included Hagers- 
town, Frederick and Winchester circuits. The 
work on the district prospered greatly. On Ha- 
gerstown circuit, under Rev. D. Spessard, more 
than one hundred persons were received into the 
church. On Frederick circuit, under Rev. J. 



74 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Bachtel and Rev. J. Mark wood, a number of 
precious revivals were held. 

In the period of his labors in Maryland, he was 
on one occasion, sitting by the side of Rev. David 
Spessard, who was preaching a sermon in Jacob 
Hoover's barn, in the Doup neighborhood, in 
Frederick County. There were a great man}' 
roughs in the districts about, and formal church 
members gave them enough countenance to em- 
bolden them. At this meeting there came to be 
such misbehavior and disorder that the preacher 
was compelled to stop. Mr. Glossbrenner arose 
and the audience at once became as quiet as death. 
He then repeated solemnly the verse of scripture : 
''Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish : for 
I work a work in your days, a work which ye 
shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it 
unto you." From that moment to the end of the 
sermon there was the best of attention. 

At another time, at Jerusalem Church, in the 
course of a revival, a lady had come forward to 
the altar. Her husband who was in the audience 
began to make a disturbance, declaring that he 
would take her away from the altar. At length 
Mr. Glossbrenner's attention was turned to the dis- 
turbance, and he asked what was wrong. Some one 
answered, " This man wants to come and take his 
wife away from the mourners' bench." Mr. Gloss- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENXER. 



(0 



brenner said, "Stand away brethren, and let him 
come forward." When he reached the side of 
his wife he fell down upon the floor and at the top 
of his voice cried to God to have mercy on him. 

On one occasion he was to preach at a place 
where the people had been so much angered at 
Rev. J. Markwood's plain preaching and sarcastic 
language that they wanted no United Brethren 
preacher to come into the neighborhood. Besides 
the people were all divided up by their selfishness 
and jealousies. He went to the place in the face 
of anger and threats, and preached from the text, 
"For I perceive thou art in the gall of bitterness, 
and in the bond of iniquity/ 5 He preached 
plainly to the people in regard to their sins and 
their strifes, and from the high plane of eternal 
truth and noble standards, rather than from the 
heat of his own feelings, rebuked their spirit and 
actions. After the sermon the people came about 
him and thanked him for his presence and faith- 
ful words. 

In 1843 Virginia Conference convened at Rohr- 
ersville, Washington County, Maryland, Bishop 
Erb presiding. Among those received were J. E. 
Bowersox, J. W. Fulkerson and William Lutz. 
Mr. Glossbrenner was assigned to Rockbridge 
circuit. This was the same field that was known 
a few years before as Shiloh Mission. 



76 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



In 1844 the conference met at Churchville, Vir- 
ginia, Bishop Erb presiding. Mr. Glossbrenner 
was sent to Staunton Circuit, with John Gibbons 
as assistant. The year was crowned with good 
success, "the preacher and people moving on with 
great encouragement." Throughout the confer- 
ence, during this year, more than five hundred 
were received into the church. 

The next session of conference was at Jerusalem 
Church, Frederick County, Maryland, beginning 
February 3, 1845, Bishops J. Erb and Henry Kum- 
ler, jr., presiding. Mr. Glossbrenner was returned 
to Staunton circuit, but the following June the 
General Conference assigned him to other work, 
and his labors as an itinerant in Virginia Confer- 
ence, as the event proved, were at an end. 

During the fourteen years of his labors in Vir- 
ginia Conference, his name at every session was 
on the list of those willing to take work. He 
might easily have had his hands full of other 
matters, but preaching was and continued to be 
his chief work. 

Referring to his early years in the ministry, 
Mr. Glossbrenner said: "In these days we had 
in Virginia no stations that afforded large 
salaries. Consequently there was no seeking after 
soft places and large pay. None of the itinerants 
imagined that they were adapted to fill stations 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 77 

only, but were willing to go to any mission or 
circuit that might be assigned them. Since those 
early days we have witnessed great changes. 
Some men speak and act as though they had a 
commission from Christ to fill important places, 
and if those places cannot be obtained, they are 
ready to leave the church of their fathers." 

The territory occupied by Virginia Conference 
was, for the United Brethren Church, a difficult 
field. It was the only considerable part of the 
United Brethren Church which was altogether 
within slave territory. A part of the Shenandoah 
Valley was most haughty and intolerant in its 
slave-holding spirit, being within the so-called 
Tenth Legion, famed for its devotion to slave- 
holding. While no large portion of the people held 
slaves, those who did wielded a most dispropor- 
tionate influence. The United Brethren Church, 
by its principles, and aided by the fact that it was 
almost exclusively confined to free territory, was 
anti-slavery and what was more, was committed to 
abolition. This militated against the freedom and 
success of the work within the bounds of Virginia 
Conference. Yet the ministers worked with an 
enthusiastic, even chivalrous, devotion, drawing an 
increased pleasure by triumphing over the hard- 
ship and hatred that fell to their lot. Other parts 
of the church grew more rapidly, but none devel- 



78 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



oped better preachers or more devoted members. 

As a preacher it was ever Mr. Grlossbrenner's 
motto to do his very best. In using scripture 
quotations he sought not only to have a number 
of proof-texts under each division of his sermon, 
but to have the most suitable and most con- 
vincing, and to give them accurately. Small 
audiences and unfavorable circumstances made 
little difference with him. In training himself in 
the preparation of sermons, he made a study of 
the British Sketches, and of the sermons of re- 
nowned preachers, but he prepared his own 
outlines and preached his own sermons. His 
associates in the ministry were accustomed to 
obtain his outlines for their own study and im- 
provement. 

In preaching he was carried by a powerful 
current of feeling, which called out all of his 
powers and gave great fervor to his delivery. At 
the same time the intellectual work, including the 
drudge work and mechanical part of bringing his 
materials together, and of joining the parts of his 
sermon, was so perfectly done that in the moment 
of delivery there was nothing to check the rush 
of his thoughts, or deflect the current of his 
emotions. Art perfected nature, and the human 
blended with the divine in that grandest produc- 
tion that crowns the effort of man — a true gospel 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREJMNER. 



79 



sermon. He had large interest m the truth, 
sincere sympathy for men, and a regard for the 
sermon in its own character as a sermon. The 
character of his preaching was already formed 
and its high plane already reached, while he 
was doing the work of an itinerant in Virginia 
Conference. 

One who knew him well in this period of his 
ministry furnishes the following description: 
" Mr. Glossbrenner at this time was a sizable man, 
noble and dignified in his form and bearing. His 
eye was full of fire but at the same time expressive 
of love and grace. His voice was melodious but 
distinct and ringing, at times swelling into the 
majesty of heaven's richest tones. He com- 
manded the highest regard of his audiences, which 
he carried at times in a transport of ecstasy to the 
gates of Paradise. He was not too precise so as 
to make the pulpit dull, nor did his avoiding of 
eccentricity produce tameness. In the arrange- 
ment and plan of his sermons he aimed to preach 
by giving the pulsations of his own feeling." 

A single example may be taken as indicating 
the power of his preaching. In 1845 Mr. Gloss- 
brenner, Mr. Markwood, and Mr. Bachtel were the 
delegates to the General Conference, which met 
that year at Circleville, Ohio. By an arrange- 
ment which the presiding elder of Virginia 



80 



LIFE OF G L OS S B REN N E R. 



district had made with them, they were to remain 
over Sabbath at Franklin, the county seat of 
Pendleton County, and hold 'for him a quarterly 
•meeting. They started out on their long horse- 
back journey and made the halt as arranged at 
Franklin. Rev. J. W. Fulkerson was the preacher 
in charge. Saturday morning Mr. Bachtel 
preached and the people said the sermon was 
the best that they had ever heard. At night 
Mr. Markwood preached, and the people were 
astonished and said that this was the best sermon 
they had ever heard. Sabbath morning Mr. 
Glossbrenner preached on Governor Felix and 
Prisoner Paul, and the audience, astonished beyond 
measure, proclaimed this sermon to be beyond any- 
thing to which they had ever listened. United 
States Senator Pennybacker, who was present in 
the audience, said, "I can say of that man Gloss- 
brenner what can be said of but few men — he is 
a good man and a great man." 

Mr. Glossbrenner was a careful shepherd, using 
great patience and wisdom in caring for those 
under his charge. His manner and spirit were at 
once a dissuasion against trilling and evil, and an 
attraction toward that which was high and noble. 
He sought to promote the publishing and mis- 
sionary interests of the church, which were then 
in their infancy. He was judicious and laborious 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



81 



as a presiding elder, giving a hallowed character 
to all religious work, and in a very special way 
exerting an inspiring and exalting influence upon 
those who came into the ministry under his 
superintendence. 

Mr. Glossbrenner was entirely in sympathy with 
the church to which he belonged. His love for 
the church and zeal for its advancement sweetened 
all of his hardships. His strength was not con- 
sumed in friction or weakened by vacillation. He 
did not write much for the press, yet there is a 
series of five articles that appeared in the Religious 
Telescope, in the year 1844, that should not be - 
passed over. His subject was, " Why I am a 
United Brethren in Christ." 

The following are the first paragraphs of the 
first article : " I received a letter a short time 
since from a Mr. Bishop, at present the pastor of 
an Evangelical Lutheran church in western Penn- 
sylvania, in which the following question was 
asked: 'Brother G., would you not like to come 
to this country and labor in the Evangelical Luth- 
eran Church?' After asking the above question 
he informed me that there is a lucrative opening 
which he holds out to induce me to me to do as 
he before had done — leave the United Brethren 
Church and become a Lutheran. The Rev. Mr. 
Bishop says in so many words that if I would 

6 



82 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



become a Lutheran I would be supported and 
would not have to bury my talent and have my 
:zeal dampened and my energies crushed. Now 
is not this wonderful? It appears that when he 
wrote to me he was not alone. There was a 
preacher with him from Madison County, Indiana, 
who is also a deserter from the United Brethren 
Church. Now these two deserters no doubt 
thought that by holding out as a bribe a rich con- 
gregation, they would make another ungrateful 
deserter. But they have missed their man this 
time. Now let me say once for all that I am a 
United Brethren, and as such I expect to live and 
die. I will now give my reasons for being a 
United Brethren. 

"First, I love the name. The name by which 
we are recognized is certainly a very appropriate 
one — United Brethren in Christ. Brethren is the 
term used by the Savior and the apostles. 
And to speak of brethren being united is certainly 
a delightful as well as a scriptural idea. But to be 
United Brethren in Christ, how does that sound 
in view of the declarations of the Scriptures?" 

The spirit indicated in the above was a spirit 
that could be trusted, and that likewise could not 
but be appreciated and rewarded. Not usually do 
the appreciation and reward come first. Some 
persons so far from having faith to look to God 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



83 



and the time to come, cannot look from the dis- 
appointment and shadows of one day to the 
next day, to say nothing of the light and joy of a 
perfected and completed life. 

Mr. Glossbrenner next proceeded to state and 
support the doctrines held by the Church, first 
showing in the following words the importance 
of sound doctrine: "I would lay it down as a 
correct principle that a man should he fully satis- 
fied in his mind that the doctrines of the society 
to which he unites himself are in accord with the 
word of God. If he does not, he acts inconsis- 
tently, and I might say dishonestly. I am aware 
that the idea has got into the minds of some, that 
a man can believe what he pleases and yet be a 
Christian. I believe no such thing. The apostle 
exhorts Timothy saying, < Take heed unto thy- 
self and unto the doctrine!' " 

He presented in these few articles the doctrines 
of the existence of God, the Trinity, the divine 
and human natures of Christ, depravity, the ex- 
tent of the atonement, justification, and the destiny 
of the impenitent, evincing by his manner of 
treatment that he had not studied theology in 
vain. 

He closed his last article with the following 
paragraph : " And here let me say that wherever 
regularly commissioned ministers of the United 



84 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Brethren Church are found, we shall find the same 
doctrines taught. There are not among us what 
may be called old and new school brethren ; that 
is, some advocating revivals of religion and others 
opposing them; some advocating the propriety of 
inviting mourners to distinguish themselves as 
such by coming to the mourners' bench, and others 
in their opposition misrepresenting the measure 
and calling it a dangerous innovation; some con- 
tending for heart-felt religion and others crying 
out fanaticism. 'No, blessed be the name of the 
Lord, United Brethrenism is the same in every 
state, in every conference, and in every congrega- 
tion. God grant that we may still preserve the 
unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace." 

Before closing this chapter let us notice Mr. 
Glossbrenner in his home life. Mrs. Glossbrenner 
sympathized with her husband's purposes and 
work. She did her work for the cause of Christ 
largely through him, enduring without complaint 
the sacrifices and privations made necessary by 
his calling. After their marriage they lived about 
a year w T ith her parents. They then moved into 
a log house on a small farm on Middle River, sit- 
uated about two miles from Church ville, the farm 
being the gift of her father. These days of early 
house-keeping, with the industry and frugality 
necessary in the circumstances, were looked back 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



85 



upon as very happy days. Indeed all hardships 
that are not recognized as hardships at the time, 
are sweet in memory. The little log house gave 
place in time to a more comfortable dwelling. 
After sojourning between two and three years in 
Frederick County, Maryland, beginning with his 
appointment to Frederick circuit in 1840, his 
residence became fixed in 1843, for a number of 
years to come, on the Middle River farm, where 
he had first resided. Previously, however, he 
had resided for a time in the Christian Shuey 
neighborhood. 

The two oldest children of Jacob J. and Maria 
M. Glossbrenner, bearing the names Catharine 
Virginia and Eliza Victoria, were born prior to 
the residence in Maryland. Two children, Wil- 
liam Otterbein and Cornelia Doup, were born in 
the period of residence in Maryland. The former 
died at the age of eight weeks, while Mr. Gloss- 
brenner was away from home attending to the 
duties of his circuit. The two youngest children, 
Marie Louise Josephine and Henrietta Clayonia, 
were born in the years 1845 and 1850 respectively. 
The name of the latter betrays the father's 
partiality for Henry Clay, the great Whig leader. 

The small farm, which was always well kept, 
exacted considerable attention and personal labor, 
not to the exclusion, however, of his duties as a 



86 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



minister. In the line of diversion, fishing, for 
which the river near by furnished excellent 
opportunities, afforded him perhaps the greatest 
pleasure. 

An honored Lutheran minister, whose ac- 
quaintance with him from an early time was most 
intimate, said: "I think I knew him well, and 
in all of the relations of life, domestic, social, 
political, and religious. I certainly esteemed him 
a model man. If I were required to point to any 
striking or distinguishing trait, I confess that I 
would find it a puzzling task. He was so 
perfectly rounded up that no single outstanding 
attribute, as in many good men, was so marked 
as to excel or overshadow any other one or all the 
rest. In his home he was the sun of the sur- 
rounding group. With his children, his habitual 
and overflowing kindness insured his unquestioned 
authority and, on their part, cheerful obedience. 
To crown the felicities of his home life, the Lord 
gave to him a companion eminently fitted to 
share the rule and satisfactions of this model 
household." 

In the social circle he took delight and was 
agreeable, having much of the spirit to please 
others rather than himself. He showed kindly 
attention to the children in the families where he 
visited, being sincere, however, rather than 



LIFE OF GLOSSBKENNER. 



*7 



profuse, in his attention. Familiarly, by the 
children, he was called Uncle Gloss. Older 
persons saved time by the same abbreviation, 
calling him Brother Gloss. The abridging or 
transforming of names for convenience or from 
-friendship is a marked Virginia custom. It may 
be proper to note that Mr. Glossbrenner, by his 
temperament, by his residence in Virginia, and 
more particularly through his marriage, became 
a true Virginian, possessing the manner and 
spirit of which that name is the symbol. 



CHAPTER V. 



Delegate to General Conference of 1837 — Original Char- 
acter of the Church — Condition at this time — A 
Constitution Adopted — Delegate to General Conference 
of 1 841 — Debate on Constitution — Mr. Glossbrenner's 
Attitude — Clause on Amendments — Acceptance of the 
Constitution — Other Acts of the Conference. 

Me. Glossbrenner's part in the General Con- 
ferences of 1837 and 1841 and his relations to 
the Church in its extended character, have been 
reserved for a separate chapter. It was required 
by the General Conference of 1833 that the annual 
conferences put in nomination four persons as 
delegates to the next General Conference, the two 
securing the highest number of votes to be the 
delegates. Mr. Glossbrenner was thus nominated, 
and along with Rev. Jacob Rhinehart was elected 
a delegate to the ensuing General Conference, 
which met on the 9th of May, 1837, at German- 
town, Ohio. To this time his work had been 
confined almost exclusively to Virginia and Mary- 
land. Aside from the bishops he had met few of 
the representative men of the Church. Sixteen 
delegates representing eight conferences were in 
attendance. The bishops present were Henry 

88 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENKER. 



89 



Kumler, sen. and Samuel Hiestand, "William 
Brown being absent. The engrossing subject of 
the session was the adoption of a constitution. 
To understand the action of the conference it will 
be necessary to take a view of the origin, compo- 
sition, and tendencies of the Church. 

The Church at this time numbered probably 
about twenty-one thousand members. The organ- 
ization and methods of the Church were far from 
being complete or settled. The Church in its 
distinct ecclesiastical character originated in the 
year 1800. For the period before that, we speak 
of a religious movement, which, from 1789 tended 
decidedly toward denominational character. The 
main influence in the founding of the Church 
came from those who were actually or traditionally 
connected with the German Reformed Church. 
In 1789, out of seven preachers present at a 
conference, live were from the Reformed side, 
the other two being Mennonites. In 1800, eight 
certainly and probably nine of the fourteen 
preachers present at the conference were from the 
Reformed side, the others being Mennonites. 
After 1800 the preachers and members in general, 
came to a much less extent from the Reformed 
side, and to a proportionately greater extent from 
the Mennonites and from other bodies, or from 
outside all den omi national lines. The result was 



90 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



that almost a new founding of the Church became 
necessary, especially in view of the fact that 
Otterbein and his associates had given to the 
Church at the first very little of formal character. 
The Mennonites, or more properly the heteroge- 
neous elements that found their way into the 
Church, resisted such formal character. A regard 
for expedient measures in building up the work 
of the Church provoked suspicion. Many came 
into the Church because of the absence of binding 
customs and constraining forms, and these would 
of course be especially strenuous in resisting their 
introduction. At the same time those forms that 
had imperceptibly been adopted were rigidly 
adhered to. From one source, however, there 
appeared a positive shaping tendency. The Men- 
nonite element in the Church believed intensely 
in righteousness, and were inclined to build up or 
insure righteousness by particular and stringent 
rules. Thus the tendency to oppose fixed forms 
had its antithetic elements. 

In order to understand the legislation of the 
Church, it is necessary to understand also some- 
thing of the intense religious spirit of the Church. 
The doctrines, religious life, and customs of the 
Church were adhered to by the people with a zeal 
which careless or formal Christians regarded as 
fanaticism. Unionizing movements that gave an 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



91 



unqualified regard, to the old churches were 
condemned, or regarded with distrust. When a 
few years later, that grand institution, the Evan- 
gelical Alliance was formed, the United Brethren 
Church refused to send delegates. Bishop Russel 
wrote, " How can we with the principles of our 
church before us, unite with slave-holding 
Methodists, with Calvinists, and with Lutherans 
who hold to baptisimal regeneration? An object 
of the convention is to drive the old pope from 
his seat, which in my opinion would only remain 
vacant until the young pope, who is now sucking 
the breasts of the Protestant churches, is weaned." 
There was also suspicion as to an educated 
ministry, lest the formalism with which it had 
been associated in the past should take the 
place of religious life. But these things, even 
when viewed in the most unfavorable light, were 
but the weaknesses or defects connected with 
beliefs and experiences of essential importance. 
Better have the weaknesses accompanying zealous 
convictions than to have the amiability tfhat 
cherishes nothing and has nothing for which to 
contend. The real life and strength of the Church 
are shown by the triumph, through a long course 
of years, over many obstacles, and the development 
of the character and instrumentalities suited to 
the mission of the church of Jesus Christ. 



92 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



At the session of the General Conference of 
1837 there was, especially on the part of some, a 
desire to have the fundamental principles of the 
Church expressed in a constitution. Old churches, 
originating in Europe., may have to content them- 
selves within the forms that they have inherited. 
Only an American product, belonging, too, to the 
nineteenth century, can cut its garment to suit 
its needs, and form its instruments to suit its 
occasions. In our day and country the same in- 
telligence that originates, is the intelligence that 
fashions the form and completes the structure. 

A leading spirit in the conference was Rev. 
William R. Rhinehart, who, while not a member, 
had great influence in view of his being the editor 
of the Religious Telescope, and was made the 
secretary of the conference. At the beginning of 
the session Mr. Rhinehart presented a written 
constitution for the government of the Church, 
and prayed its adoption. The constitution was 
favorably received, and * apparently without 
amendment, was adopted by the unanimous voice 
of the conference. The conference felt that in 
adopting the final article of the constitution, 
which declared that no subsequent General 
Conference could amend the constitution without 
a two-thirds vote of the conference, they had 
exceeded their authority; so in a circular ap- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



93 



p ended to the constitution the following language 
was used: "We are well aware that we have 
transcended the bounds given us by our discipline 
which [transcending of bounds] will be found in 
the constitution, article four, section two, declar- 
ing that the said constitution can neither be 
altered nor amended without a majority of two 
thirds of a General Conference. The object of 
this circular is (feeling that the government of 
the Church is not as firm as it ought to be) to give 
notice to our Church throughout the Union that 
we intend to present a memorial to the next 
General Conference, praying them to ratify the 
constitution now adopted according to [making 
it binding under] article four, section tw T o." 
Beyond the securing of definiteness, fixed charac- 
ter, and harmony of practice, the constitution 
presented little that was specially significant. 
The only radical departure was that given in the 
article on amendments, and that was referred to 
the next General Conference for ratification. 

The constitution, though not binding under the 
final article, was yet designed to be binding from 
the time of its adoption. The constitution began, 
" We, as members [not we the members], of the 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ" ordain, 
and so forth. Thus the constitution did not 
purport to come from the membership. The 



94 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



members of the conference, according to previous 
resolution, came forward on the next morning 
after the adoption of the constitution, and solemn- 
ly appended their names, which would not have 
been done in the case of a proposed constitution. 
Then, by resolution, the number of delegates from 
the different annual conferences to the next 
General Conference was fixed in a pro rata way 
in harmony with the constitution. Further, in 
the printed discipline, edited by William E,. 
Bhrinehart and William Hanby, the two persons 
who were foremost in the adoption of the con- 
stitution, at the place where the section had stood 
in previous disciplines, on the members con- 
stituting the General Conference, the note was 
thrown in, " See constitution," just as was the 
case after the adoption of the constitution of 
1841, and has continued down to the present time. 
It stands also as a fact that the provisions of the 
constitution in whatever form they applied in 
the interval before the General Conference of 
1841, were as consistently adhered to as in the 
circumstances of the case, could at all have been 
expected. There is not wanting, however, decisive 
testimony as to the intention of the conference. 
Rev. William Hanby, a member of the conference 
and one of the editors of the discipline, in 1839 
while serving as editor of the Religious Telescope, 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREJSNER. 



95 



wrote the following, the extract being a part 
of a reply to a question of Rev. William R. 
Coursey: "Here we must confess that we do 
not understand Brother Coursey, unless he is of 
the opinion that the present constitution is void 
and of no effect. If so, we think he is mistaken. 
It was not, by any means, considered that the con- 
stitution would be null and void for four years, and 
that therefore a petition should be offered to the 
next General Conference, praying for the enact- 
ment of a certain specification, as set forth in the 
circular of the discipline. General Conference did 
by no means doubt their right to gather up the 
detached principles of government as contained 
in the discipline and throw them together in the 
form of a constitution, and even make amend- 
ments to them, but they did doubt the right of 
declaring that that constitution should be neither 
altered nor amended without a majority of two 
thirds of a General Conference, and that was, we 
think, the only object of the circular, and that is 
the only specification set forth in the circular. 
Presuming, then, that the constitution is equally 
valid with other parts of the discipline, we refer 
Brother Coursey to the second article in the 
constitution as exhibiting a satisfactory manner 
of procedure." 

Other measures looking to the stability and 



96 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



upbuilding of the Church were adopted by the 
conference of 1837, indicating a confidence in the 
permanence and future success of the Church. 
A constitution was drafted and adopted for the 
publishing work of the Church. Methods for 
the secure holding of the church property received 
attention, as also the proper methods for carrying 
forward the work of building church houses. 
Henry Kumler and Henry Hiestand were re-elected 
bishops, and Jacob Erb was chosen for the first 
time. Extensive revivals prevailed throughout 
the Church during the ensuing quadrennium, and 
church spirit was carried to an advanced point. 
The term "United Brethrenism," a term not 
encouraged by many, came into quite general use. 

Mr. Glossbrenner along with Rev. William E. 
Coursey, was elected to represent Virginia Con- 
ference in the General Conference of 1841. The 
General Conference met on the 10th of May at 
the Dresbach Church, Pickaway County, Ohio. 
Bishops Kumler and Erb were both present. 
Bishop Hiestand had died three years before. 
Twenty-one delegates, five more than in 1837, 
were in attendance. The delegates were men, as 
a rule, of much more experience and agressiveness 
than were the delegates of 1837. John Russel, 
John Coons, H. G. Spayth, George Miller, Joshua 
Montgomery, and Henry Kumler, jr., were among 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



97 



the number. Sixteen of the delegates had not 
been present as delegates in 1837. On the after- 
noon of the second day the subject of a constitution 
was brought up. 

About a half dozen short articles on the subject 
appeared in the Religious Telescope in the years 
1840 and 1841, being almost entirely confined 
to the desirability of a constitution and bearing 
almost exclusively upon the proposed ratification 
of the constitution of 1837. In a published article 
Rev. Joshua Montgomery set forth the spirit of 
a considerable number of ministers in the Church. 
He wrote: "Let us have a constitution now 
while our Church, laity and ministers are disposed 
to be governed by the true spirit of Christ and 
his word, and then should a part or all of us 
depart from this spirit, still no rule in discipline 
could be enacted contrary to the constitution until 
that constitution is altered. Such alteration would 
elicit discussion, and the laity of the Church who 
always have had and always should have the 
appointing of delegates to that body which is 
to frame, or have the altering of said con- 
stitution, would have an eye upon the man or 
men who would so alter or amend the constitution 
as to be derogatory to the Bible . . . and thus we 
may be saved from that domineering spirit that 
stalked at noonday in the Church of Rome, or 



98 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRBNNEK. 



that is now prevalent wherever the same unholy 
and unscriptural church government rules the 
people." The fact that the office of bishop was 
recognized in the Church caused many to take a 
decided attitude against episcopal arrogance and 
usurpation. In his article, Rev. J. C. Winter 
desired the constitution to remain unchanged, 
except that in addition to forbidding changes 
except by a two-thirds vote of a General Confer- 
ence, he would have thrown in that no rule 
" contrary to the word of God " should be enacted. 
Rev. H. G. Spay tli and Rev. William R. Coursey 
wrote articles opposing a constitution from con- 
siderations drawn from the history of the Church. 
According to their view, the Bible and the provi- 
dence of God had given the Church being, and 
guided it thus far, and would be sufficient for the 
future. This is the summary of the discussion 
prior to the General Conference. 

In the resolutions and discussions on the 
subject of a constitution, on the General Con- 
ference floor, no reference whatever was made to 
the instrument of 1837. How this came to be 
thus is not altogether clear. A few considerations 
may explain the matter somewhat. In the first 
place, a very limited number had had anything to 
do with the earlier instrument. Again the often 
referred-to circular was so involved and unintel- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



99 



liffible in its wording as to seem to have reference 
to the body of the constitution itself, rather 
than exclusively to the article on amendments. 
Still further, some of those who regarded as 
valid the provisions of the constitution with 
the exception of the article on amendments, 
reserved the name constitution for the instru- 
ment when so ratified as to put it beyond the 
realm of legislation. Thus bewildering and 
conflicting positions were taken. Then there 
were some who were opposed to a constitution, 
who began to speak of the constitution as not yet 
in force. There came to be no little confusion in 
the latter part of the quadrennium. In some of 
the annual conference districts not all of the 
provisions of the constitution of 1837 were 
observed in the election of delegates in the fall 
of 1840, but in none of them were all of the 
provisions previously in force obeyed. Some saw 
in the confused state into which things had come, 
an opportunity for a constitution of a different 
character. Thus between those who desired no 
constitution and those who desired a constitution 
embracing different features, the constitution of 
1837 went to the ground. Rev. William R. 
Rhinehart, who stood so closely identified with 
the constitution of 1837, had lost much of his 
influence, having been constrained to resign his 



100 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNEH. 



position as editor of the Religious Telescope in the 
middle of his term. 

The discussion began on the motion " that a 
constitution for the better government of the 
Church he adopted." J. Montgomery, speaking 
in favor of a constitution, said that " the object 
of a constitution is to guard against apostasy; to 
sustain a balance of power between the ministry 
and the laity; that it is designed to establish 
points of polity which should stand unalterable." 
II . G. Spayth, J. McGaw, A. Biddle, J. J. Gloss- 
brenner, and others, from the customary argu- 
ments, stood opposed to a constitution. When the 
vote was taken, fifteen voted in the affirmative 
and seven in the negative, the bishop not in the 
chair, casting his vote also. It was believed by 
the minority that what had been sufficient in 
the past would suffice for the future, and that 
there was peril in anything that would interfere 
with flexibility and an unfettered choice of 
methods in the affairs of the Church, amidst the 
contingencies that the future might reveal. But 
when they were outvoted not one of them was 
sullen or rebellious. A committee of nine, one 
from each conference, was appointed " to draft a 
constitution." The committee consisted of J. 
E-ussel, J. J. Glossbrenner, George Miller, A. 
Biddle, H. G. Spayth, J. Montgomery, William 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



101 



Davis, H. Bonebrake, and H. Kumler, jr. When 
in 1849 Mr. G-lossbrenner was asked why, if he 
was opposed to a constitution, he served on the 
committee to draft one, his answer was, " If there 
was to be a constitution I wanted to help to make 
it as good as possible." So perhaps thought the 
others; for a number of the delegates who were 
opposed to a constitution served on the com- 
mittee. The constitution as drawn up and finally 
adopted by a large majority left out the pro rata 
principle of the constitution of 1837, included 
among new items prohibition of connection with 
secret combinations and slavery, and in the last 
article made changes impossible " unless by re- 
quest of two thirds of the whole society." The 
statement that the form drawn up in 1837 was 
now adopted "after some slight amendments," is as 
unhistoric as the statement that the form of 1837 
was a kind of " conventional constitution," which 
the conference of 1841 was "to adopt, amend or 
reject." This theory was first hastily announced 
on the floor of the General Conference of 1849 
when three delegates assailed the validity of the 
constitution. As all criticism soon ceased, this 
theory unchallenged was generally embraced, 
even receiving the sanction of those who had 
previously announced a different view. The 
committee found it convenient to use some parts 



102 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



of the disregarded constitution. Some elements 
were engrafted from the previous discipline. The 
change of expression from "Freemasonry" to 
" secret combinations" was made with special 
reference to Odd Fellowship which was just then 
coming to the attention of the Church. The most 
striking feature of the constitution 1841, that 
which gave to all of the others their importance, 
was the article- in regard to amendments. 

What was meant by the language that no 
alteration should be made in the constitution 
" unless by request of two thirds of the whole 
society " could not have been entirely clear at the 
time. As far as the Church had any custom for 
the expression of the will of the laity, it was 
through the selection of the ministerial delegates 
who should represent them in the General Con- 
ference. The sole expression of the people in the 
constitution of 1841 was of this character. There 
were no petitions in advance and there was no 
submission to vote afterward. We may readily 
conceive that in view of the absence of precedent 
and experience in obtaining expressions from the 
laity, it would be difficult to give a statement of 
the mode by which a suitable expression could be 
reached. The General Conference of 1833 had 
forbidden the enrolling of members where there 
was opposition. The General Conference of 1837 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



103 



made the apportinment of delegates to be elected 
to the next General Conference because, as one 
of the delegates expressed it, "Some of the annual 
conferences had conscientious scruples about 
numbering their Israel." It was not till 1857 
that the Church presumed to give any statistics 
relating to the entire membership. 

If the word request did not mean an expres- 
sion from the laitv throusrh their ministerial 
delegates, it evidently is to be taken in the sense 
of vote. It was at once translated into the 
German word Stimmenzahl which carries that 
meaning. The expression " whole society " was 
sometimes used to distinguish the membership in 
general from the ministry or the General Confer- 
ence. The constitution of 1837 gave the power of 
making changes to the General Conference com- 
posed of ministerial delegates; the constitution 
of 1841 gave the power of making changes to the 
membership throughout the Church. The mean- 
ing would therefore be a two-thirds vote in the 
usual interpretation of the word. However, if 
the word request should be pressed, the meaning 
would certainly be an expression of the member- 
ship through the choosing of the delegates who 
should represent them in the General Conference. 
In this manner the sentiments of the Church had 
hitherto been expressed. 



104 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Some of the delegates to the conference of 1841 
said, years afterward, that it was the intention to 
make changes impossible. A delegate yet living 
says that he doubts not that a few of the delegates 
at the time preferred to have such a constitution, 
hut that it was not his view that they regarded 
their desire as accomplished. Just before the 
General Conference a leading member held up to 
scorn the idea that church government had " ar- 
rived at perfection," and that a form that " could 
not he altered or amended" should be received 
from the " chair of dictatorial infallibility." ~No 
instrument that a number of persons have had a 
part in framing is to be interpreted as though it 
were the work of one person. There may be 
elements that it is necessary to reconcile. A chief 
justice of the United States has decided that even 
the intention of those framing laws is not of itself 
decisive as to what the construing should be. 
The language and the drift are of the first 
moment. The chief thing in this case is that 
the article in question stands as the article regu- 
lating amendments, and as such requires a 
making amendments feasible construction. 

Undoubtedly the principles of the constitution, 
as far as their operation brought them into notice, 
were generally approved. Whatever might be 
developed afterward, there was then nothing to 



LITE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



105 



show that the provisions of the constitution were 
not well advised The party that did not believe 
that the future could be trusted and that a 
formal provision might prevent apostasy, and 
the party that believed the Bible and the eternal 
Spirit were the guide and pledge of the church 
of Christ, went on with their work in harmony. 
Happy would it be if the absence of mere 
technicality and obstinate literalness might be as 
conspicuous in the present interpretation of the 
constitution as it was in regard to the method of 
adoption. 

The extent and diversity of material incorpo- 
rated into the constitution are truly remarkable. 
On the side of the expedient in method, we have 
the itinerant plan and the guaranteeing of the 
rights of local preachers. On the side of the 
moral in practice, we have the prohibition of con- 
nection with secret societies and slavery. In the 
statement of religious truth, we have the confes- 
sion of faith guarded by a provision of the 
constitution. A striking provision also is the 
placing of the government of the Church in 
the shand of ministerial elders, no lay elders being 
recognized. For a new people just entering upon 
their history, especially for a people that started 
out in opposition to all existing forms, these 
features are indeed remarkable. The Mennonite 



106 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



strictness of life and the cleceptiveness by which 
it came to be supposed that formal elements could 
arrest decline of piety, furnish, at least in part, 
the explanation. 

At the session of General Conference in 1841, 
Mr. Glossbrenner moved that the salary of 
traveling preachers be increased. The motion 
prevailed and the salary of a single preacher 
wasmade one hundred dollars, and that of a 
married preacher two hundred dollars. He 
also introduced a resolution forbidding laymen 
as well as preachers to vend ordistill intoxi- 
cating liquors. This motion also prevailed. 
He also took an active interest in the adoption 
of a resolution by which discussion of the slavery 
question in the Religious Telescope was forbidden. 
Some of the members favored the resolution 
from the apprehension that if abolition were 
advocated, state and national authorities would 
interfere with the circulation of the Religious 
Telescope in slave territory. Others feared that 
in the precarious financial condition of the 
publishing office, if division of feeling were 
caused, the paper could not be issued at all. 
Some, however, bitterly opposed the resolution. 
By the action of the conference, a constitution 
for a general missionary society was formed. 
While Mr. Glossbrenner was a delegate in the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



107 



General Conferences of 1837 and 1841, and was 
active and prominent in the latter especially, his 
own part in these conferences was not such as to 
justify comprehensive description of the acts of 
these conferences: yet for the better understand- 
ing of his work and relations in the periods 
following, a somewhat extended account of these 
significant conferences seemed important. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Delegate to General Conference of 1845 — Educational 
Work Begun — Elected Bishop — East District — West 
District — Otterbein University Founded — Virginia Con- 
ference in 1847 — Camp-meeting Sermon — Middle Dis- 
trict — Spirit of the Church — Aversion to Lauding Men 
— General Conference of 1849 — Temperance — Secret 
Societies — Slavey — Re-elected Bishop — Assigned West 
District — Holds Conferences on Middle District — West 
, District — East District — Execution of the law on Sla- 
very — West District. 

The ninth General Conference assembled at 
CircleviUe, Ohio, May 12, 1845. Bishops H. 
Kiitnler, sen., H. Kumler, jr., and John Coons 
were present; Bishop Erb was absent. J. J. Gloss- 
brenner, J. Bachtel, and J. Markwood represented 
Virginia Conference. The Church was everywhere 
extending its bounds, and many interests in the 
newer as well as in the older parts of the Church 
were to be cared for. A number of new confer- 
ences were constituted. The St. Joseph, Illinois, 
and Iowa were carved out of the bounds of the 
Wabash. An additional conference was formed 
by the dividing of Pennsylvania Conference. 
Provision was also made by which White Eiver 
Conference was set off from Indiana Conference 

108 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



109 



in the following year. Thus five new conferences 
were constituted. The delegates felt that much 
of the future success of the Church was in their 
hands. They sought to "build soundly as well as 
rapidly. Publishing interests received careful 
attention. Four years before, Mr. Glossbrenner 
had voted for restricting the discussion on slavery 
in the Religious Telescope. He now voted to re- 
move the restriction; the motion prevailed, though 
nine votes were cast in the negative. He voted 
in favor of all measures looking to a better quali- 
fied ministry. 

On the motion to refer to the annual confer- 
ences the proposition to found an institution of 
learning, he voted in the affirmative. To secure 
the passage of such a resolution at this time re- 
quired the explicit understanding that it was not 
a part of the purpose to train men specifically for 
the ministry. This was the first measure that the 
Church had taken looking to the education of 
her sons and daughters under her own auspices. 
Under the license of this resolution, Otterbein 
University was founded the following year, and 
other institutions were founded in quick succes- 
sion. Mr. Glossbrenner saw the propriety of 
establishing and sustaining these institutions, and 
later came to see the importance of institutions 
for the special training of candidates for the Chris- 



110 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



tian ministry. But in these regards it can not 
be said that he moved much more rapidly than 
the body of the Church; and thus to those of the 
most advanced aims, who were struggling 
Avith great difficulties in building up educational 
institutions, he seemed not to have sufficient 
interest in the educational work of the Church. 
This seeming lack was due in large part to quali- 
fications that he threw in. He would have the 
educational work advanced in such a way and at 
such a rate as to conserve the elements that had 
characterized the Church in its origin, and as 
would hold the different classes in the Church 
together under the bond of common sympathy. 
In one point of view, his moderate course has 
been justified by facts. Some of the young peo- 
ple of the Church, either because of their real or 
supposed liberal education, or because of the 
slowness of the Church in moving on progressive 
lines, have become alienated and lost to the 
Church. Thus have the efforts of the Church 
been repaid. 

Mr. Glossbrenner voted with the minority 
against a resolution that the rule on temperance 
should remain as it was. The minority demanded 
more advanced measures. Early in the session, 
in consequence of a proposition to change slight- 
ly the language of the confession of faith, Mr. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Ill 



Glossbrenner moved that in view of the constitu- 
tion the General Conference had no right to revise 
the confession of faith. The motion prevailed by a 
vote of fifteen against eight. This fidelity to the 
constitution and laws of the Church was thorough- 
ly characteristic, and will appear hereafter on 
many and diverse occasions. 

At the hands of this General Conference Mr. 
Glossbrenner received his first election as bishop. 
He was already fairly well known to the Church. 
Many of the ministry and laity of Virginia 
Conference had become distributed through the 
West. He had been a delegate to three succes- 
sive General Conferences. It does not seem, 
however, that he had been present at any annual 
conference sessions, aside from those of Virginia 
Conference, with the exception of a visit that he 
made to Scioto Conference in connection with his 
attendance at the General Conference of 1841. 
His ability as a preacher, his orderly method, his 
thorough sympathy with the Church, along with 
his modest bearing, commended him to the dele- 
gates as one not unworthy of the high and 
responsible office of bishop in the church of 
Christ. He had not yet completed his thirty-third 
year. He had been fourteen years a preacher, 
however, and had stood for twelve years an elder, 
having served five years as presiding elder. The 



112 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER, 



fact that the old men of the conference gave him 
their support would seem to indicate that youth 
in his case was no great fault. His associates 
were William Hanby, who had previously given 
excellent satisfaction as editor of the Religious 
Telescope, and J. Russel, a man of strong char- 
acter and original methods, whose early home 
was in Washington County, Maryland. _N"one of 
the bishops elected had seen previous service in 
the office of bishop. New hands were at the 
wheel. 

The Church was divided by the bishops into 
three "dioceses." The first year Bishop Gloss- 
brenner presided over the conferences in the East, 
consisting of Virginia, East Pennsylvania, West 
Pennsylvania, and Allegheny. The bishops were 
to be itinerants as well as bishops. They were to 
spend their time preaching and laboring in vari- 
'ous ways on their districts, and were also to 
rotate on their districts. They were in conse- 
quence to receive the regular pay of itinerants. 
Hitherto there had been no regular provision for 
the support of bishops. If there was money left 
from some other fund, they sometimes received a 
meagre allowance for expenses. 2sTow collections 
were to be taken up in advance, and the money 
reported at conference. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's first conference was the 



LIFE OY GLOSSBRENNER. 



113 



Virginia, which met at Otterbein Church on Mill 
Creek, Shenandoah County, Virginia, February 
6, 1846. At this place he united with the con- 
ference fifteen years before. He opened the 
session by reading the twelfth chapter of II. Cor- 
inthians, and by an appropriate address. This 
was the Bishop's own conference, and here he was 
treated not only with respect, but with love. Six 
persons were ordained, J. W. Fulkerson, William 
Lutz, and J. E. Bowersox being of the number. 
The conference asked Bishop Glossbrenner " to 
itinerate through his district as much as possible/' 
and pledged itself to do what it could to " support 
him according to the disciplinary allowance." On 
Sabbath he preached a " very appropriate, practi- 
cal, and affecting discourse." The session was 
pleasant, and measures were taken looking to 
larger efforts and more fruitful results. 

The next conference attended by Bishop Gloss- 
brenner was the Pennsylvania, which met at 
Springville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 
February 20, 1846. The General Conference had 
authorized the division of Pennsylvania Confer- 
ence, and a large number of the members expected 
two sessions to be held in 1846. On the represen- 
tation of some of the members, Bishop Gloss- 
brenner appointed a united session. Some 
dissatisfaction was expressed, but the dissatisfied 

8 



114 LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 

ones acquiesced with the best possible grace. 
Bishop Glossbrenner felt some trepidation in 
going to this old, strong conference. It had 
eighty-eight names on its roll of members. He 
also felt an embarrassment in going to a confer- 
ence that had as many German preachers as had 
the Pennsylvania. Before going to the confer- 
ence, and while laboring somewhat under these 
embarrassments, Rev. Caspar Light, one of the 
noble-hearted ones among the German preachers, 
wrote to him, saying: "Come on, young English 
bishop; we Germans will stand by you and hold 
up your hands." " This," said Bishop Gloss- 
brenner, " encouraged me greatly." Among the 
Germans Bishop Glossbrenner always found 
ready hearers and warm friends. He used simple 
language and quoted many passages from the 
Scriptures. A certain admirer of the bishop, 
belonging to another denomination, once said 
that it was not with him as it was with another 
preacher of whom he had heard, who often used 
the word philanthropy and other similarly de- 
rived words. A lady, having heard tHis preacher, 
said: "There is one thing that puzzles me. I 
do not see how PM-anthropy could be such a 
good boy, when his sister .$ft"s-anthropy was such 
a bad girl." Bishop Glossbrenner had a line com- 
mand of crisp, idiomatic Anglo-Saxon, molded 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



115 



upon the lips, the natural language of living 
thought and burning emotion. 

He opened the session of Pennsylvania Confer- 
ence by reading the fifth chapter of I. Peter and 
making " appropriate remarks in the English 
language." Bishop Russel was present and deliv- 
ered an address in German. On Tuesday fore- 
noon at ten o'clock Bishop Glossbrenner delivered 
the conference sermon, and Bishop Russel im- 
mediately followed him in German from the same 
text. Arrangements were made for separate sesr 
sions of East and West Pennsylvania conferences 
the following year. The conference expressed 
" sincere thanks to Bishops J. J. Glossbrenner 
and J. Russel for the able manner in which they 
had managed the business of the conference." 

Bishop Glossbrenner' s last conference, the 
Allegheny, convened at Wayne Church, Mifflin 
County, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1846. The session 
was opened with a suitable address. Allegheny 
Conference was one of the most enterprising of 
the conferences of the Church. It had a number 
of strong men. Isaiah Potter and J. R. Evans 
were two of the four ordained to the office of 
elder. 

In making his trips to the conference, Bishop 
Glossbrenner rode a large gray horse, somewhat 
ungainly in appearance, but a fine traveler. 



116 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREiNNER. 



When necessary he could walk fifty miles a 
day. In the early days of the United Brethren 
Church, to have a good horse and to know how to 
take care of him were prime requisites. Newcomer 
was specially noted in both of these regards. 

Bishop Glossbrenner, in the fall of the same - 
year attended the conferences on the West 
district, consisting of Iowa, Illinois, Wabash, and 
St. Joseph conferences, along with Scioto Con- 
ference. Leaving home August 10th he came 
by boat on the Ohio River to Cincinnati, reaching 
Cincinnati August 15th. Here he remained till 
the 18th, preaching twice for the United Brethren 
congregation. He then took boat for St. Louis. 
A very pleasant company of people were on the 
boat, among them a number of ministers. By 
request he preached three times in the course of 
the journey. From St. Louis he went to Colum- 
bus City, Iowa, where on the 31st of August, 
Iowa Conference convened. Iowa was not 
admitted as a state till December of this year. 
The attendance at this conference was very 
limited, not half of the small membership of the 
conference being present. This year there was 
much sickness throughout the West. The 
preaching places were widely separated, and 
the preachers were poorly supported. This was 
the second session of the conference after being 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



117 



regularly set off by the General Conference. 
John Everhart was elected chairman, and F. ~R. 
S. Bird secretary. A. A. Sellers was present, 
and Christian Tronp was absent. Three new 
members were received and three persons were 
ordained. Bishop Glossbrenner was made the 
bearer of sixty-six dollars of missionary money 
to the itinerants of Iowa Conference. 

Bishop Glossbrenner himself furnishes a de- 
scription of itinerant life in Iowa at this time. 
He draws the following picture : " I think that 
I can give a tolerably correct account of a 
missionary's life in this western world. My 
brethren, in your imagination fix your eyes on 
that missionary of the cross as he leaves his 
humble cabin to meet his appointments. There 
is little flour or meat in the house. His compan- 
ion in toil and hardship gives him her hand and 
seems to say, while her eyes are filled with tears, 
' Husband, ours seems to be a hard lot, but go in 
the strength of the Lord; we will still trust 
him.' There stand his hatless and shoeless little 
ones, saying, 4 Father, when will you come 
back?' He looks upon them and says, 'I can- 
not tell; be good children and be kind to your 
mother.' He then leaves them. Now follow 
him as he travels through the lonely woods 
or across the broad prairies. The tear falls 



118 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



down his manly cheek, but still he feels, Woe 
is me if I preach not the gospel. He reaches 
his appointment, he enters the cabin, takes out 
his Bible and hymn book, lays them down, and 
his heart is lifted to God for divine assistance. 
A hymn is sung. After prayer he stands up as 
an embassador of God, gives out his text, and 
preaches, not about the gospel, but the gospel 
itself, not in word only but in power and 
the demonstration of the Holy Ghost, and with 
much assurance, commending himself to every 
man's conscience in the sight of God. After 
preaching he meets the class. The Lord is with 
them, their souls are filled with glory, and for 
awhile the missionary forgets his troubles and 
privations, and rejoices in a title clear to mansions 
in the skies." 

Bishop Glossbrenner's second conference was 
the Illinois, which met at Spring Grove, Wiscon- 
sin Territory, September 14th. J. Denham was 
elected chairman and Josiah Jerrell, secretary. 
Ten new members were received and six 
candidates were ordained. Money received from 
the older parts of the Church was also distributed 
among the itinerants of this conference. The 
year had been prosperous, and the outlook was 
encouraging. 

He next attended Wabash Conference which 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



119 



met at Isaac Bolton's, in Vigo County, Indiana, 
September 28th. Belonging to this conference 
were a number of the prominent men of the 
Church. William Brown, J. C. McNamer, Janies 
Griffith and John Hoobler might be named. 
The conference passed a resolution against 
a proposed union of the United Brethren Church 
with the Wesleyan Methodist Church. The 
proposition had been brought prominently before 
both churches and met with much favor; yet 
both churches were too well satisfied with their 
separate organization and work to consum- 
mate a union. Bishop Glossbrenner himself was 
not favorable to the movement. One of the 
prominent interests at this time was that known 
as the benevolent fund, which aimed to provide 
assistance for needy or worn-out itinerants or 
their families. Large salaries were not encour- 
aged even by the preachers, and they could not 
have been commanded even if desired. This 
movement enlisted much of the enthusiasm and 
support that it deserved. Bishop Glossbrenner 
gave himself with great zeal and success to the 
building up of this fund. He raised for this 
purpose a large subscription at Wabash Confer- 
ence. 

His next conference was the St. Joseph which 
met at LeffeFs school-house, Kosciusko County, 



120 



LIFE OF GLOSSRRENNER. 



Indiana, October 12th. Leading members of this 
conference were Francis Whitcomb, J. Fetterhoif, 
J. Thomas and J. M. Hershey. This conference 
was as much in favor of a nnion with the Wes- 
leyans as the Wabash was opposed to it. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's last conference for the 
year was the Scioto, which met at Bethlehem 
Church, Pickaway County, Ohio, October 26th. 
He opened the conference by reading the second 
chapter of IL Timothy, and by an appropriate 
address. Scioto Conference was one of the old 
conferences, and in it were represented as much 
intelligence, enterprise, and tried Christian char- 
acter, and as high talent in the ministry, as could 
be found in any of the conferences. Here were 
found J. Montgomery, L. Davis, E. Van Demark, 
J. Kretzinger, J. M. Spangler, D. Edwards, and 
William Fisher. Bishop Hanby, though a mem- 
ber, was not present. The great matter which 
will make this session ever memorable, is that at 
this session the first successful measures were 
taken looking to the work of education under 
the auspices of the Church. The conference 
now took practical steps that led to the putting in 
operation in the following year of Otterbein 
TTniversity. The trustees appointed were L. 
Davis, J. Dresbach, and W. Hanby. Bishop 
Glossbrenner often referred with satisfaction to 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



121 



the fact that he had the honor of presiding at 
the conference session at which the educational 
work of the Church was inaugurated. He re- 
ceived a vote of thanks for the " able and courte- 
ous manner " in which he conducted the business 
of the conference. 

February 8, 1847, he met with his own con- 
ference in Virginia, at Mt. Hebron Church, 
Washington County, Maryland, Bishop Ilanby 
presiding. Virginia Conference had the embar- 
rassment of being in slave territory, and besides, 
was vexed with a few cases of slave holding 
within the Church. The editor of the Religious 
Telescope, Rev. D. Edwards, who was present at 
the session, had admitted into the columns of the 
paper strong denunciation of all connection with 
the "domestic institution." It was claimed by 
Virginia Conference that the course of the paper 
was a great hindrance to success in slave territory, 
and it was proposed to establish a religious paper 
under the direction of the conference. Steps 
were taken looking toward the establishment of 
a literary institution, and Bishop Glossbremier 
was placed on the committee to select location 
and raise money for the same. The effort did not 
issue in success. Through a course of years, 
propositions were made all over the Church, look- 
ing to the establishing of academies and colleges. 



122 



LIFE OF GLOSSB11ENNER. 



Much was said and written on the subject. In 
some parts of the Church liberal donations were 
given. There was, so to speak, an educational 
furor. ~Not all of the efforts were well directed, 
and after the first moments, the enthusiasm of 
many cooled. 

Through the plan of changing districts, and 
owing to the fact that some of the conferences 
were held in the spring and others in the fall, 
Bishop Glossbrenner served two districts in 1846, 
and presided over no conferences in 1847. 

At a camp-meeting held in Virginia in the 
period of Mr. Glossbrenner s first term as bishop, 
he found himself in a rather serious situation, 
from which he happily extricated himself. Rev. 
W. R. Coursey, the presiding elder, preached on 
Saturday from Matthew 18: 3: " Verily I say unto 
you, Except ye be converted, and become as little 
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." On Sabbath morning Bishop Russel 
came upon the grounds and was pressed into 
service. He selected the same text, which had an 
unpleasant effect on those anxious for the success 
of the meeting. Monday morning Bishop Gloss- 
brenner arrived, took the stand, and announced 
the same text. Now the situation became pain- 
ful in the extreme. A good sister within the altar 
spoke up and said, "That text has been preached 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



128 



to death already." The bishop scarcely halting, 
said, "Never mind, sister, I will endeavor to raise it 
up and put new life into it." The issue justified 
the statement. The outcome could not have 
been happier if the preachers had consulted and 
every item been planned. Coursey was a good 
talker and a close reasoner; Russel was a topical 
preacher with critical expositions ; "Bishop Gloss- 
brenner," says an eye witness, " was in his 
happiest mood of gospel power." As he pro- 
ceeded in his inimitable way, many in the audi- 
ence rose to their feet and others moved about 
unconscious of what they did. 

In the year 1848 he presided over the Middle 
District, consisting of Miami, Indiana, White 
River, Sandusky, and Muskingum conferences. 
Miami Conference met at Miltonville, Ohio, 
January 6, 1848. Henry Kumler, sen., was elected 
chairman, and W. R. Ehinehart secretary. Ex- 
bishops John Coons, Joseph Hoffman, and H. 
Kumler, jr., were also members of the conference. 
Miami Conference was the mother conference of 
the West. There was indeed a line of extension 
from the old conference in the East, through 
Muskingum and Sandusky conferences, over the 
northern part of Ohio on into Michigan, but 
Indiana and Wabash conferences with their off- 
shoots are to be traced back to the Miami, the 



124 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



first session of which was held in 1810. At the 
present session there were ninety- three names of 
members on the roll. The various interests and 
enterprises of the Church received due attention. 
The reform character of the Church stood con- 
spicuously forth. 

Indiana Conference met at Union meeting- 
house, Orange County, Indiana, January 20th. 
Daniel Shuck, Henry Bonehrake, L. S. Chitten- 
den, Aaron Davis, and T. J. Conner were among 
the best known ministers present. 

White River Conference met at White Chapel, 
Madison County, Indiana, February 3d. This 
was the second session of the conference. Though 
the conference was small, it was full of enterprise. 
J. A. Ball, W. W. Richardson, C. W. Witt, D. 
Stover, and J. T. Vardeman were among the 
members present. In the previous session of the 
conference, one of the preachers had been charged 
with public immorality for enlisting to serve in 
the Mexican War. On this charge he was at 
this conference expelled. The United Brethren 
Church was quite thoroughly opposed to war in 
any circumstances, but especially to the Mexican 
War, on account of its being understood to be a 
war in the interest of slavery. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner at this session had his home with Mr. 
John Lambert, with whose family he was familiar 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



125 



in Virginia. Nothing pleased the Bishop more 
than to meet throughout his travels those with 
whom or with whose families he had been as- 
sociated in Virginia. He met ministers from 
Virginia in almost every conference, and his love 
for them, almost if not quite, amounted to 
partiality. 

Sandusky Conference met at Brett's Meeting- 
house, Seneca County, Ohio, February 17th. 
Leading members in this conference were H. Gr. 
Spayth, George Hiskey, and J. C. Bright. This 
conference was just entering on a career of un- 
precedented activity. The conference resolved to 
co-operate actively and liberally with Otterbein 
University. The conference was the banner con- 
ference in the work of missions. 

The last conference attended by Bishop Grloss- 
brenner, on this round, was the Muskingum, 
which met at Connotton, Harrison County, Ohio, 
March 3d. This conference was the third annual 
conference formed, having been constituted in 
1817. S. Weaver, J. Weaver, and C. Carter were 
among the members present. A. Biddle and W. 
S. Titus, while not present, received transfers. 
Bishop Glossbrenner was asked " to give a short 
history of the origin of the United Brethren 
Church for the benefit of the young brethren in 
the ministry, which he kindly and satisfactorily 



126 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



did, along with some appropriate remarks rela- 
tive to the situation of the Church in the slave 
states." 

In the fall of 1848 he presided over the same 
conference, over which he presided in the spring 
of 1848. Miami Conference met September 20th 
at Farmersville, Ohio. Among those received as 
members was W. J. Shuey. The finances of the 
conference were improving at a rapid rate, and 
prominent laymen, such as T. Sowers and 
John Dodds, were being recognized and put to 
work. Indiana Conference met at Zion Chapel, 
Dearborn County, Indiana, September 28th. A 
field of labor was recognized in Kentucky, J. 
Blair being made presiding elder over the same, 
with one preacher under him. White River Con- 
ference met at Kingdom Chapel, Shelby County, 
Indiana, October 6th. Steps were taken looking 
to the establishment of a manual labor school. 
T. J. Conner was received by transfer. Sandusky 
Conference met at Walter's school-house, Lucas 
County, Ohio, October 20th. It sustained its 
reputation for devotion to the local and gen- 
eral work of the Church. Bishop Glossbren- 
ner preached a " very plain and impressive 
discourse." Muskingum Conference met at 
Warner's meeting-house, Stark County, Ohio, 
November 2d. An earnest missionary spirit 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



127 



combined with a jealous care to maintain the old 
landmarks, characterized the conference. J. Wea- 
ver was one of the two candidates ordained. "The 
bishop preached a very feeling and appropriate 
sermon." Bishop Glossbrenner was present at 
the session of Virginia Conference which con^ 
vened near Hagerstown, Maryland, January 25, 
1849, and assisted Bishop Russel in presiding. 

We have thus gone with Bishop Glossbrenner 
to all of the conferences of the Church, fourteen 
in all. Though scattered over a large territory, 
they were one in traditions, purpose, and sym- 
pathy. There was harmony within and little of 
admixture from elements without. Opposition 
to all wickedness in the world and all secular 
tendencies in the church of Christ was the nega- 
tive pole, and love to Christ and the souls of men, 
the positive pole governing the character and 
activities of the Church. Opposition to theologi- 
cal education, and the restricting of salaries to a 
meager specified amount, were thought to be 
necessary to keep the Church and its work from 
being considered on + he basis of secular things. 
Slavery, secret societies, and intemperance fur- 
nished the special points for this opposition to 
the world. It is not strange that along with 
this intense opposition to worldly elements there 
should be a strong force holding the Church to- 



128 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



gether and giving it a homogeneous character. 
isTo one understands aright the United Brethren 
Church, who does not discern in its history an 
earnest effort to reach the marked elements pre- 
sented in the New Testament as belonging to 
the kingdom that Christ came to establish. But 
no one will deny that there were weaknesses and 
blemishes. Mistake and confusion may easily be 
pointed out. The Church was a revival church 
taking to itself from all classes of society and all 
conditions of neglected humanity. As a body it 
was mostly taken from Satan's side of the line, 
instead of being taken from other folds or from 
elements having a training in churehliaess. Some 
untowardness, therefore, if not balanced by ad- 
vantages, must yet be borne with. Converts were 
licensed to preach in many cases immediately on 
their conversion. Members and preachers were 
in many instances irregular and unreliable. But 
everywhere and always close discipline was ap- 
plied to the correcting of abuses and the purifying 
of the Church. One of the prominent things at 
almost every conference session was the hearing 
of complaints against ministers. This holds good 
from the earliest times. Technicalities were not 
allowed to stand in the way of the expulsion of 
offenders. It was something of a maxim, "Truth 
and righteousness are above sympathy." 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



129 



If at many places the life of Bishop Glossbren- 
ner is allowed to merge itself in the history of the 
church to which he belonged, it is because, as an 
actual fact, the life of the Church first dominated 
his own character and work. He was not 
specially in advance of the Church or above it, 
but a part of its throbbing power and guiding 
intelligence. If not much is found recorded of 
the principal men of the Church, it is because it 
was against the spirit of the Church to exalt the 
names of men. Even now we cannot help giving 
a degree of sympathy to words written in this 
spirit by the editor of the Religious Telescope in 
1848. After reproving zeal in hunting up facts 
that would honor the name of Otterbein, the 
editor said: " Otterbein seems to have purposely 
avoided everything which in anyway led to man- 
worship in his person. His highest ambition 
seems to have been 

'To be little and unknown, 
Loved and prized by God alone!' 

" Could we now consult him he would no doubt 
exhort us to employ our time in becoming 
acquainted with Christ, instead of following the 
examples of those who would canonize and wor- 
ship every distinguished leader in their respective 
churches." This statement, right in large part, 



130 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREKJSER. 



hides from us, just as it checks in the actors 
themselves, the existence and manifestation of 
individualized character and effort. To speak of 
a sermon as plain, practical, or feeling, was about 
as much as it was allowable to say. The proper 
thing, it would seem, is a fair setting forth from 
proper sentiments of the character and acts of 
worthy men. Others will thus be instructed and 
inspired, and God will be honored. Proper rec- 
ognition will encourage the actors, who, having 
the assistance of the judgments of others in form- 
ing a judgment of themselves, will be even more 
likely to avoid a hurtful and exaggerated opinion 
of themselves. 

We now come to the tenth General Conference 
which convened at Germantown, Ohio, May 14, 
1849. Bishops Han by, Russel, and Glossbrenner 
were all present. Thirteen conferences were 
represented by three delegates each, excepting 
the Illinois, which was represented by one 
delegate. In consequence of distance and the 
prevalence of Asiatic cholera, no delegates were 
present from Iowa Conference. The General 
Conference was composed of the strongest and 
most aggressive members of the different annual 
conferences. The leading questions were those 
touching in some way the reform principles of 
the Church. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



A resolution prohibiting the use of ardent 
spirits as a beverage " passed with the utmost 
enthusiasm." This was the point to which 
Bishop Grlossbrenner, with others, had been 
laboring to bring the legislation of the Church. 
In 1814 the Old Conference adopted a rule that 
every member should abstain from strong drink 
and use it only when necessity required. But 
this was in advance of the ideas and practice 
of the Church, as well as in advance of the 
general practice among professed Christians. 
The General Conference of 1821 formulated a 
rule against distilling, on the part of ministers 
and members, and laid it over for future action. 
The General Conference of 1833 ordained that no 
exhorter or preacher should distill or vend ardent 
spirits on pain of not being considered for the 
time of his disobedience a member of the Church. 
At the same time all members were advised 
against manufacturing and selling ardent spirits. 
This advice was made by the General Conference 
of 1841 a command. It remained for the Gen- 
eral Conference of 1849 to forbid the using as a 
beverage as well as the manufacturing and selling 
of ardent spirits. Later (in 1873) to prevent 
all ambiguity, the expression intoxicating drinks 
was substituted for ardent spirits. 

Rev. C. W. Witt, chairman on the committee 



132 LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 

on secret combinations, presented a report the 
first clause of which was the following: " Free- 
masonry in every sense of the word shall be 
totally prohibited and there shall be no connect- 
ion with secret combinations." In 1826, before 
the Morgan excitement, Miami Conference 
declared that all ministers who should join the 
Masonic fraternity should forfeit their connection 
Avith the Church. In 1827 the conference in the 
East declared that all preachers and members 
who should connect themselves with the order of 
Freemasons should lose their membership. The 
General Conference of 1829 declared that Free- 
masonry in every sense of the word should be 
prohibited and that all who should connect 
themselves with the Masonic fraternity should 
cease to be members of the Church. This law 
continued substantially unchanged until 1849. 
At this time the expression "there shall be no 
connection with secret combinations " was inserted, 
being taken from the constitution of 1841. Later 
changes have all had reference to the method of 
enforcement. In 1841 when the constitution 
was adopted, the Church had scarcely come into 
contact with any secret society other than Free- 
masonry. But in 1842 the Sons of Temperance 
originated, and from that time on the whole 
subject began to assume a different phase. In 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



133 



the General Conference of 1849 Bachtel and 
Mark wood of Virginia Conference were opposed 
to introducing language into the law that would 
apply alike to all secret societies. H. Kumler, 
jr., Joshua Montgomery, David Edwards and 
others made energetic speeches in favor of the 
proposed law. Only two, Markwood and Bach- 
tel, voted against the law, while two were 
neutral, II. Burtner and "William R. Rhinehart. 
Bishop Glossbrenner was in the chair during the 
discussion. The discussion extended through 
nearly a whole day and was able as well as 
exciting. 

The subject of slavery came before the confer- 
ence in various forms. The Church had been 
opposed to slavery from the beginning. The first 
legislation on the subject was in 1821, when a 
rule was adopted forbidding slavery, but including 
a provision that the hire for slaves for a certain 
time should be applied toward compensating their 
masters. In 1837 this provision was stricken out 
and the law against slavery made absolute. In 
Virginia Conference, beginning as early as 1830, 
there came to be a number of cases of slave-hold- 
ing. As already noticed, a restriction was placed 
on the utterances of the Religious Telescope in 
1841, but this had reference to a prudent refrain- 
ing, as was supposed, from embittering those 



134 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



favorable to slavery among whom the Church 
worked. The difficulties encountered were real 
and not easy of solution. The perils in the 
line of self-deception, cupidity, fear of popular 
odium, and corruption of conscience, were very 
great. The laws of the slave states made eman- 
cipation difficult, and the law of the Church up 
to 1837 was by its own statement to be subject to 
state law. A member of the Church by marrying 
into a slave-holding family might become involved 
in slavery without his active consent, and those 
so disposed could reap the profits of slavery 
without technically being slave-holders. In 1840 
Virginia Conference dealt summarily with a 
minister whose wife was understood to be the 
owner of a slave, but rinding itself in error as to 
the facts, rescinded its action at the next session. 
At this session of the General Conference earnest 
measures were taken to carry out the law of the 
Church in all cases. The delegates from Virginia 
Conference were frank in giving the state of the 
case as to slavery within the Church, and asked 
for explanations as to the intent of the law and 
the method of procedure. Both as to slavery 
and secret societies, the prohibitory clause of the 
constitution stood inconveniently in the way of 
the slight modifications desired by some of the 
delegates. In view of this, and from the fact 



LIFE " OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



135 



that the constitution had not been submitted to 
the people, a motion was made that the constitu- 
tion be expunged. Only three delegates, however, 
voted in the affirmative. 

At this session, West Pennsylvania Conference 
was charged with not coming up to the disciplin- 
ary requirements in regard to distilling, and 
Miami Conference was charged with not throw- 
ing its whole influence against connection with 
secret societies. The Church, however, stood 
almost as a unit on these questions as well as on 
almost every other question. 

During the session Bishop Grlossbrenner ruled 
against granting the right to the Otterbein con- 
gregation in Baltimore to vote for delegates to 
the General Conference, on the ground that they 
were subject to their own particular discipline 
instead of the discipline of the United Brethren 
Church. His decision was reversed by the con- 
ference, this being almost a solitary case of an 
appeal against his decision being sustained. At 
this time local elders were first placed on the 
stationary committees. 

Mr. Glossbrenner was re-elected to the office 
of superintendent in the Church, his colleagues 
being David Edwards and Jacob Erb, the latter 
having filled the office of bishop the eight years 
between 1837 and 1845. Bishop Edwards was 



136 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



just entering on what proved to be a long and 
noble career in the office of superintendent. He 
was a man of strong convictions, courage in 
announcing and maintaining the same, and in- 
domitable energy. He was noted both as a 
preacher and an administrator. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner was assigned to the West District, 
including Miami, Indiana, Wabash, Illinois, and 
Iowa conferences. By special arrangement, 
Bishop Glossbrenner and Bishop Edwards, who 
was assigned to the Middle District, exchanged 
districts the first year. Bishop Glossbrenner thus 
presided the first year over White River, St. 
Joseph, Sandusky, Scioto and Muskingum con- 
ferences. 

Bishop Glossbrenner presided at the White 
River Conference which met at Dublin, Indiana, 
September 13, 1849. There was a large attend- 
ance of members. The conference voted to co- 
operate in the support of Otterbein University, 
in view of a proposition to connect with the 
u niversity a manual labor department. Two 
members were ordered to be reprimanded by the 
bishop for non-compliance with the requirement 
to lift collections for missions. St. Joseph Con- 
ference convened at Pleasant Plains, Elkhart 
County, September 27th, and was opened by an 
appropriate address. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



137 



The next conference was the Sandusky, which 
met at Gilboa, Ohio, October 5th. The session 
was marked by close attention to business, and 
enthusiasm in the Lord's work. J. Lawrence 
and J. C. Bright were leading spirits. A presid- 
ing elder's district was formed in Michigan. 
Ministers were sent out to missions with nothing 
but territory and spiritual destitution before 
them, and a small appropriation back of them. 
The bishop gave a wholesome lecture on care in 
receiving members into the Church. On Sabbath 
he preached an impressive sermon on "Winning- 
Souls," after which five persons were ordained. 
"The occasion was solemn, melting, and refresh- 
ing.'' 

Scioto Conference met at Salem meeting-house 
on Winchester Circuit, October 17th. Within the 
bounds of the conference Otterbein University 
had gone into successful operation two years 
before. Circleville, where the Religious Telescope 
was published, was within the conference bounds, 
and in the periods between General Conferences, 
Scioto Conference had the oversight of the paper. 
In no conference was there a stronger body of 
preachers. They were specially alert to the new 
interests that were springing up in the Church 
and demanding wise management and hearty 
support. In coming to such a conference a more 



138 



LIFE OF G LO S SB REN N E R . 



magnetic and bracing atmosphere is always felt. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's last conference was the 
Muskingum, which met at Berlin meeting-house^ 
Mahoning County, Ohio, November 1st. Seven 
candidates were ordained. There had been an 
increase in membership of eight hundred and 
forty-three. The conferences were improving 
greatly in the accuracy and fullness of their 
statistics. The Church, east aud west, was grow- 
ing rapidly. On the West District the increase 
for the year was about twenty-five per cent. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was present at the session 
of Virginia Conference, at Mt. Hebron, Shenan- 
doah County, Virginia, beginning March 7,. 
1850. He took an active part in the proceedings. 
More than six hundred members had been re- 
ceived into the Church during the year. 

We now turn to Bishop Glossbrenner's labors 
on his own district — the West District. The first 
conference attended was the Iowa, which met at 
Clark's Point, Lee County, Iowa, August 15, 
1850. Christian Troup, who, more than any 
other one was the founder of the conference, had 
died during the year. The ministers were meager- 
ly supported, and had it not been for assistance 
contributed from abroad, especially by Sandusky 
Conference, they would scarcely have been able 
to continue in the field. Bishop Glossbrenner 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



139 



took great interest in looking after the comfort 
and temporal support of the ministers under his 
charge. This he did by urging their claims in the 
older parts of the Church and by looking after 
the benevolent fund. Illinois Conference met at 
Lexington, Illinois, August 29th. Scioto Con- 
ference sent the bulk of its contributions for the 
frontier to this conference. Wabash Conference 
met at Millford Church, Warren County, Indiana, 
September 6th. Indiana Conference met at 
Liberty meeting-house, Adair County, Indiana, 
September 20th. This was the first conference 
session held in the State of Kentucky. Indiana 
Conference was now struggling to put on a 
good basis Hartsville Academy, White River Con- 
ference having voted to co-operate. The last 
conference for this round was the Miami, which 
convened at Seven Mile, Ohio, October 3d. 
Twelve new members were received, among the 
number being D. K. Flickinger and J. Kemp, jr. 
It was resolved to found an institution of learn- 
ing. After the bishop's sermon on Sabbath a 
good collection was taken up for missions in the 
" far west," Iowa and Illinois being meant. It 
may be remarked that at this time Dayton be- 
longed to Springfield circuit. 

March 7, 1851, Bishop Glossbrenner was pres- 
ent at the session of Virginia Conference at 



140 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Bethlehem Church, Augusta County, Virginia. 
Bishop Erb presided. Bishop Glossbrenner 
presided over no conferences this year. 

In the year 1852 he presided over the confer- 
ences of the East District, Bishop Erb having 
presided over the conferences of the West District 
the fall of the preceding year. Allegheny Con- 
ference met in Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania, 
January 80, 1852. J. R. Sitman, J. B. Resler, I. 
Potter, S. S. Snyder, W. H. S. Keys, D. Speck, 
and W. B. Dick were among the active and 
prominent members. Within the bounds of the 
conference, Mt. Pleasant College had been in 
operation for two years. 

East Pennsylvania Conference met at Mount- 
ville, Pennsylvania, February 12th. After Bishop 
Glossbrenner addressed the conference in English, 
Bishop Erb made an address in German. The 
presiding elders elected were S. Voneida and J. 
A. Sand. The German element largely predomi- 
nated. Pennsylvania Conference met at Green- 
castle, Pennsylvania, February 20th. Bishop Erb 
assisted Bishop Glossbrenner in presiding. Among 
the itinerants we find the names of A. Owen, J. 
S. Kessler, W. B. Raber, J. Dickson, J. C. Smith, 
and Z. A. Colestock. 

Virginia Conference met at Rohrersville, 
Maryland, February 27th, Bishop Glossbrenner 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



141 



presiding, assisted by Bishop Erb. At this session 
the crisis of the disagreement between Virginia 
Conference and the discipline of the Church on 
the slavery question was reached. During the 
year very harsh articles had been written on both 
sides. Bishop Erb had been assailed because of 
words said in favor of a strict adherence to the 
discipline. Bishop Glossbrenner had been held 
in suspicion in consequence of the intemperate 
utterances of some of his associates in Virginia 
Conference. At this session it was resolved to 
institute an examination into the cases of slave- 
holding, take action upon them according to 
their nature, give an impartial statement to the 
next General Conference, if desired, and to ask 
such legislation as could be complied with in 
letter as well as in spirit. This change of attitude 
betokened better things. It was proposed at this 
session to allow a member who was understood to 
be connected with a secret society to withdraw 
free of complaint. Bishop Glossbrenner stated 
that if the conference insisted on taking that 
course, he would carry the matter to the General 
Conference. The proposition was modified. 

After this session of Virginia Conference, as 
there was now a prospect that the ministers of 
the conference would co-operate in a sincere and 
earnest effort to carry out the spirit of the dis- 



142 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



cipline, Bishop Glossbrenner resolved personally 
to do what he could to bring about so desirable 
a result. 

At the first quarterly conference on Churchville 
circuit, where he lived, he arose, to the astonish- 
ment of almost all who were present, and moved 
that the discipline on slavery be enforced to the 
letter. Rev. George A. Shuey, his brother-in- 
law, seconded the motion. What made the case 
peculiarly difficult was the fact that of the two 
slave-holders on the circuit, one was Christian 
Shuey, Mr. Glossbrenner's father-in-law. Chris- 
tian Shuey, from some cause, purchased a female 
slave shortly after 1845, who with her children 
born afterward, constituted all the slave property 
owned by him. Mr. Shuey had already matured 
plans for freeing himself from the evil of slavery, 
yet he was not, at the time^ prepared to come up 
to the strict requirements of the discipline, but 
spared the Church all difficulty from his case, by 
surrendering his active relation to the Church. 
The other case was that of a young man in the 
Church who became a slave-holder by marrying 
a lady who subsequently inherited slaves. He 
likewise released the Church from all difficulty in 
his case. "Peculiar cases ,r of slave-holding were 
not wanting down to the time when the pen of 
Abraham Lincoln with one stroke brought free- 
dom to a whole race of slaves. 



LIFE OF GLOSS-BRENNER. 



143 



Bishop Glossbrenner's last round for the quad- 
rennium was made on the West District. Miami 
Conference held its session at Pleasant Ridge 
Chapel. Butler County, Ohio, beginning Septem- 
ber 1, 1852. At the request of Bishop Glossbren- 
ner, a presiding elder's district was formed in 
Missouri, and H. Kumler, jr., that veteran mission- 
ary, elected to preside over the same. General 
Conference was asked to divide the conference ter- 
ritory. Evergreen College, to be located at Seven 
Mile, received due attention. Indiana Conference 
met at Bethel Meeting-house, Clarke County, 
Indiana, September 9th, and Wabash Conference 
at Otterbein Church, Coles County, Illinois, Sep- 
tember 17th. Iowa Conference met at Knoxville, 
Marion County, Iowa, September 30th. The 
territory occupied by the conference had ex- 
tended into Missouri and well toward the western 
boundary of the State of Iowa. General Con- 
ference was asked to divide the conference. 
Illinois Conference convened at Rose Hill Church, 
Rock Island County, Illinois, October 9th. This 
young conference had grown up in eight years to 
have four presiding elders' districts. Steps were 
taken at this session to establish an institution of 
learning. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was present at the session 
of Virginia Conference, beginning February 11, 



144 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNEK. 



1853, at Mt. Hebron, Hardy County, Virginia, 
Bishop Erb presiding. On Sabbath Bishop Erb 
preached in German and Bishop Glossbrenner 
in English. 

In the eight years just reviewed^ much of 
Mr. Glossbrenner's traveling was by steamboat 
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He was car- 
ried frequently from one conference to another 
by private conveyance. Near home he made his 
journeys on horseback. To a limited extent he 
was also enabled to travel by railroad. 

In this period of his labors as a superintendent 
in the Church, by his abiding zeal for the spirit- 
ual side of the work of the Church, by the spirit 
of devotion which he sought to inspire at the 
conferences, and by his careful and firm adminis- 
tration of the laws of the Church, he did much to 
prepare the way for the phenomenal activity and 
success of the Church in the period on which it 
was now just entering. 



CHAPTER VII. 



General Conference of 1853 — Extension of the Work — 
Depravity — Course of Reading — Organization of Mis- 
sionary Society — Slavers' — East District — First Round 
— Presides in the West — General Conference of 1857 — . 
Infant Baptism — Settlement of the Depravity Contro- 
versy — East District — Church Dedications — Last Year 
of the Quadrennium — His Services and Character — 
Relation to Slavery — Home Life. 

The eleventh General Conference met at Mil- 
tonville, Ohio, May 9, 1853. Bishop Glossbren- 
ner and Bishop Edwards presided alternately. 
The preceding quadrennium had been marked by 
great prosperity. Beginning about 1850, a tide 
of unusual success set in and extended to all parts 
of the Church. There was intense zeal in extend- 
ing the Church into new parts, and in developing 
and strengthening it on ground already occupied. 
The General Conference of 1853 had the large 
conceptions and the courage to respond to the 
new and enlarged demands upon it. Thus with 
this session began a new era in the widening and 
developing of the work of the Church. Bishop 
Glossbrenner, in an opening address, spoke of the 
encouraging condition of the Church, of the 
important matters that would come before the 
10 145 



146 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



conference, especially the missionary interest, 
and closed with an exhortation to the members 
to use Christian forbearance in their treatment 
of one another throughout the deliberations of 
the session. 

The great subject that made this General Con- 
ference and the one succeeding it memorable, was 
the depravity question. Bishop Glossbrenner's 
relation to the controversy, from first to last, was 
one of great importance. While his orthodoxy 
was never called in question by the most ortho- 
dox on the radical side, he yet showed great 
consideration for those who were understood to 
hold liberal or unsound news on the subject. He 
had confidence in them as brethren, and believed 
that the differences were largely differences of 
views rather than differences in the doctrines 
held. The Church has always shown a disposi- 
tion to keep clear of theological paradoxes. By 
some the doctrine of total depravity was regarded 
as the companion piece of Calvinism. Since 1841, 
when the subject of depravity was made a part 
of the examination of ministers, protests had not 
been wanting. The controversy had been earnest 
and many pens had been employed. Conferences 
were distracted and the feeling of distrust was 
becoming quite general. In the West, especially, 
the doctrine of total depravity was resisted, and 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



147 



many in the East, particularly the Germans, re- 
garded it as unauthorized and subversive of the 
truth. Early in the session Bev. I. Potter moved 
that the question to applicants be made to read, 
" Do you believe in natural, hereditary, total 
depravity as held by the Church?" After pro- 
tracted discussion, resulting only in wider 
separation, Bishop Glossbrenner proposed the 
following amendment or explanation which was 
adopted: "1. That by depravity is meant, not 
guilt nor liability to punishment, but the absence 
of holiness; which therefore unfits man for 
heaven. 2. By natural depravity is meant that 
man is born with this absence of holiness. 3. By 
hereditary depravity is meant that this unholy 
state is inherited from Adam. 4. By total deprav- 
ity is not meant that a man or child cannot 
become more unholy, nor that he is irrecoverably 
unholy, nor that he is a mass of corruption, but 
that this absence of holiness must be predicated 
of all the faculties and powers of the soul." The 
first three items in the amendment would not be 
opposed by many. The last did not meet the 
view, or did not express all of the meaning of 
either party, but was accepted as a compromise 
statement. The word complete was substituted 
for the word total in the resolution and in the 
amendment, being thus more in harmony with 



148 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



the explanation given in the fourth item of the 
amendment. But even after Bishop Glossbren- 
ner's amendment had' prevailed, the resolution 
was carried by a majority of but twenty-three to 
nineteen. The prominent opponents of the res- 
olution were J. Russel, J. Terrel, A. A. Sellers, 
and F. R. S. Byrd. Rev. Wm. Davis, though not 
a member of the conference, was a leading repre- 
sentative of the liberal view. The subject will be 
noticed again in connection with the proceedings 
of the next General Conference. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was appointed one of a 
committee of five to prepare a course of reading 
for licentiates. A. course had been outlined in 
1841, but it was not made compulsory. The two 
following General Conferences were satisfied to 
stop with the requirement that applicants be such 
as would pursue a course of study in books rec- 
ommended. The present regular and compulsory 
course marked a great advance. 

The General Conference constituted eight new 
conferences; namely, Rock River, Erie, Des 
Moines, Oregon, Michigan, Missouri, German, 
and Auglaize, four of them being mission con- 
ferences, and some of these not being stronger 
than one of the mission fields of the older confer- 
ences. The recognized conferences were thus 
made to number twenty-two. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



149 



One of the most important acts of the General 
Conference of 1858 was the organization of an 
efficient general missionary society. * The Church 
was a missionary church from the heginning. In 
1816 the first heginning of a missionary society 
was made in Miami Conference, and a small sum 
was subscribed. Two years later the Old Confer- 
ence also took action. Regular effort, however, 
was not continued. In 1819 the conference in 
the East after the preachers had received their 
full amounts, — no one had received more than 
one hundred dollars, — it was found that there 
remained in the treasury sixty-six dollars and 
twenty-four cents, and it was voted that this 
amount, with fifty dollars specially contributed, 
be sent to the "poor preachers in Ohio." Scioto 
and Muskingum conferences formed home mis- 
sionary societies in 1838. Virginia Conference 
organized in 1839. Other conferences followed. 
The General Conference of 1841 formed a 
constitution for a home and foreign missionary 
society, and elected officers. The constitution 
contemplated the organization of local societies 
throughout the Church, instead of recognizing 
the annual conferences as branches, and all the 
members of the Church as members. Outside 
of the bishops, the officers were all selected from 
one conference — the Scioto. A new board, con- 



150 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



stituted in the same manner, was elected in 1845 
and re-elected in 1849. Nothing was done before 
1852 when two missionaries were appointed to 
Oregon. Bishop Glossbrenner was one of the 
vice-presidents elected in 1845. Of the board as 
constituted in 1853 he was made the president. 

The General Conference at this session ordered 
the removal of the Telescope office from Circleville, 
Ohio, to Dayton, Ohio. Bishop Glossbrenner was 
favorable to a change, and had voted four years 
before in favor of removal to Cincinnati. 

At this session it was made plain enough that 
the law of the Church on the subject of slavery 
" said what it meant and meant what it said," as 
Bishop Glossbrenner had previously stated in 
reference to the cases of slave-holding that yet 
remained in Virginia Conference. In view of 
the fact that opposition to slavery raised up such 
a barrier to the progress of the Church in slave 
territory, and especially in view of the fact that 
since slavery has been overthrown the prejudice 
against the Church proves scarcely less a barrier, 
some have concluded that it would have been 
wiser and better for the Church to have gone on 
preaching the gospel and seeking the salvation 
of men, without enacting and enforcing restrictive 
rules on slave-holding. But while, as in the case 
of the early church, it may be allowed to be for- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



151 



bearing when there is, on such evils as slavery, 
neither an intelligent judgment nor an awakened 
conscience, there comes a time, after the under- 
standing and the conscience have been sufficiently 
addressed, when policy, to say nothing of right- 
eousness and justice, demands that no account 
shall be taken of present costs aud particular 
losses. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was re-elected bishop, his 
associates being D. Edwards and L. Davis, the 
last named being elected for the first time. Bishop 
Davis entered the ministry in Scioto Conference. 
From the time when Otterbein University was 
planned, he became the acknowledged leader and 
the chief burden-bearer in the educational work 
of the Church. Even now he could not be 
wholly spared from what seemed to be pre- 
destined as his life work. Bishop Glossbrenner 
was assigned to the East district, including Vir- 
ginia, Pennsylvania, East Pennsylvania, Alle- 
gheny, Muskingum, Erie, and Scioto conferences. 
A bishop, if married, was to receive the regular 
salary of a married itinerant, being at first one 
hundred and sixty dollars, then two hundred, 
and being made at this time two hundred and 
twenty -five dollars and traveling expenses, with 
house rent not exceeding forty dollars. In the 
early history of the Methodist Episcopal Church a 



152 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



preacher received eighty dollars, and if married, 
his wife received eighty dollars. The General 
Conference of 1853 closed with " an affectionate 
address by Bishop Glossbrenner, a fervent prayer 
by Bishop Davis, and the benediction by Bishop 
Edwards." 

September 30, 1853, Bishop Glossbrenner met 
with the missionary board in a called meeting at 
Dayton, Ohio. At this time the first steps were 
taken that resulted in the sending of three 
missionaries to Africa in January, 1855. All of 
the missions of the Church, as well as the methods 
for obtaining the necessary money for missionary 
purposes, received due attention. This was the 
beginning of a long line of missionary meetings, 
and of wide-reaching efforts to extend the king- 
dom of Christ. Rev. John C. Bright was the 
enthusiastic and able corresponding secretary, 
and in response to his efforts liberal contributions 
flowed into the treasury. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's first conference was the 
Scioto which met at Morris meeting-house, Pick- 
away County, Ohio, October 5, 1853. He was 
assisted by Bishops Edwards and Davis. The 
time for the presence of the representatives of 
general interests was at hand. Missionary Sec- 
retary J. C. Bright, received in cash and subscrip- 
tions fifteen hundred dollars for the Missionary 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENKER. 



153 



Society. Bishop Grlossbrenner next attended the 
joint session of the Muskingum and Erie confer- 
ences, beginning October 13th, at Newman's 
Creek Chapel. At this conference the Missionary 
Society received fifteen hundred and fifty dollars 
in cash and subscriptions. The superintendent 
was requested to preach in his travels through the 
conference district, whenever it might be advisa- 
ble, on the subject of depravity — an evidence that 
such preaching was hardly necessary. One 
morning at this session, when the conference was 
called to order, no quorum was present. The 
bishop sent messengers to summon the absentees. 
They were found busy clubbing down chestnuts 
from the chestnut trees with which the church 
was surrounded. When the truants returned, the 
bishop gave them such 'a fatherly admonition as 
won their hearts to him, and at the same time 
gave them a loftier ideal of their duties as mem- 
bers of the conference and as ministers. 

Allegheny Conference met January 5, 1854, at 
Johnstown, Pennsylvania. At this session, "after 
•an able address by Brother Bright, followed by 
Bishop Glossbrenner in his usual pointed and 
feeling manner," the amount of two thousand, 
three hundred and seventy-seven dollars was 
pledged for the cause of missions. January 12th, 
JCast Pennsylvania Conference met at Lebanon, 



154 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Pennsylvania. J. C. Bright represented the 
missionary interest and received for the mission- 
ary work one thousand dollars. Rev. H. Ivum- 
ler, jr., represented the interests of the Telescope 
office. January 26th Pennsylvania Conference 
met. A liberal response was made to the ap- 
peals for general interests. On Sabbath Bishop 
Glossbrenner preached in English and Pev. H. 
Kumler in German. Virginia Conference met 
at Edenburg, Virginia. Pev. J. C. Bright pre- 
sented with success the interests represented by 
him. The sessions of all the conferences held 
by Bishop Glossbrenner on this round were char- 
acterized by harmony. The temperance question 
occupied unusual prominence. Especially was 
there manifested great devotion to the Church, 
along with unfaltering confidence in its mission 
and success. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's round of conferences 
for the year 1854-5, began with Scioto, at Wester- 
ville, Ohio, September 26, 1854, and closed with 
Virginia, at Myersville, Maryland, January 26, 
1855. Muskingum Conference convened at 
Crooked Pun, Tuscarawas County, Ohio; Erie 
at Palzetta, Ohio; Allegheny at Mt. Pleasant, 
Pennsylvania; East Pennsylvania at Peading, 
Pennsylvania; and Pennsylvania at Chambers- 
burg, Pennsylvania. The general interests of the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



155 



Church were presented by persons appointed. 
Bishop Glossbrenner supported these interests by 
his influence and advocacy, hut his influence was 
especially felt in encouraging the preachers in 
their regular work. Conference sessions were 
begun and closed by earnest exhortations by him. 
Those receiving license to preach and those 
elected to elder's orders were earnestly enjoined 
to faithfulness. The minutes for the session of 
Erie Conference says: " The conference sermon 
was just what we needed. The power of 
God accompanied the word. Sensations were 
awakened and resolves made while Brother 
Glossbrenner was delivering his solemn charge, 
that will certainly tell on the destinies of many 
immortal souls." In his annual report he speaks 
of the strong and weak points of the different 
conferences. He closed his report with the follow- 
ing characteristic exhortation: "In conclusion 
let me say to the ministers on my district, let it 
be your highest ambition to be successful minis- 
ters of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Stand fast; be 
of one mind; live in peace; and may the God of 
all grace and comfort be with you, is the prayer 
of your fellow-laborer in the gospel." There was 
collected for him the amount of two hundred and 
nine dollars and thirteen cents above the disci- 
plinary allowance. This was applied to other 
purposes. 



156 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



In the fall of 1855 Bishop Glosshrenner presided 
at all of the conferences of Bishop Davis with the 
exception of the Auglaize, then called Maumee, 
and the Michigan. He was this quadrennium, 
the only one of the bishops who had both hands 
free to attend to the duties of superintendent. 
Bishop Davis was largely occupied with his duties 
in connection with Otterbein University, and 
Bishop Edwards had the additional work of edit- 
ing the Unity Magazine and the Children's Friend. 
The first conference attended was the Des Moines, 
beginning August 8th at Attica, Iowa. The con- 
ference asked the next General Conference to 
rescind the depravity clause. This could not 
have been very gratifying to the Bishop. Twelve 
new preachers were received and the progress of 
the conference was very gratifying. Iowa Con- 
ference met at Muscatine, Iowa. Erne ministers 
were received on transfers from other conferences, 
among them Solomon Weaver from Muskingum, 
The first steps were taken that led to the found- 
ing of Western College. A resolution unfavorable 
to the union of the United Brethren and the Wes- 
leyan denominations was adopted. 

Bishop Glossbrenner next met with Rock River 
Conference at Hazel Green, "Wisconsin. The 
Bishop's Sabbath sermon greatly encouraged and 
strengthened the itinerants. Rev. J. C. Bright, 



LIFE OF GLOS&BHENNER. 



157 



wlio accompanied him, represented successfully 
the missionary interest and in other ways exerted 
an excellent influence. St. Joseph Conference 
met at North Manchester, Indiana, and Sandusky 
Conference at Kewville, Indiana. At the latter 
conference Bishop Glosshrenner ruled that no 
member could be expelled without trial. At this 
session every preacher was asked whether he be- 
longed to a secret society, and all replied in the 
negative. In another conference, not held by 
Bishop Glossbrenner, every preacher in charge of 
a work was required to ask each of his members 
the same question. Sandusky Conference voted 
in favor of the proposed union with the Wes- 
leyans. 

Bishop Glossbrenner then presided at the 
sessions of all of his own conferences. He or- 
ganized Canada Conference April 19, 1856. The 
ministers present were I. Sloane, C. E. Price, R. 
Light, and P, Flack. At an earlier period Rev. J. 
Erb had been a successful missionary in Canada. 
At its first session, Canada Conference received 
four new members, among them A. B. Sherk. 

The last year of the quadrennium Bishop Davis 
held no conferences, his conferences being held 
by Bishops Glossbrenner and Edwards. Bishop 
Glossbrenner held the Miami for Bishop Edwards, 
and Bishop Edwards held the Scioto for him in 



158 



LIFE OE GLOSSBRENNER. 



return. The conferences presided over were, be- 
sides his own, Des Moines, Iowa, Eock River, 
and German, with Miami. German Conference 
belonged to Bishop Edwards' district. He pre- 
sided again this year over Canada Conference. 

He had now closed his work of presiding over 
the conferences for the present term. Several of 
the conferences at their last sessions passed re- 
solutions requesting his re-election to the super- 
intendency. As a member of the Board of 
Missions, and as president of that body, he had 
labored earnestly for the success of the mission- 
ary work. The publishing interests enlisted his 
earnest sympathy and support. He formed the 
closest attachments for Rev. J. C. Bright who 
accompanied him in behalf of the missionary 
work, and for Mr. John Dodds, who had already 
begun to represent the publishing interests. His 
regard for the educational work may best be 
indicated through his own words, used in 1856: 
" I look with pleasure and delight at our institu- 
tions of learning. They shall have my prayers 
and influence in their behalf; for they have been, 
now are, and, I hope, will continue to be a bless- 
ing to the Church." Yet with reference to 
candidates for the ministry, he said: "Let us by 
no means discourage good men who are filled 
with the Holy Ghost, even though they in a 



LIFE OF (iLOSSBRENNEIl, 



159 



literary point of view are not so well qualified as 
we might desire." 

The twelfth General Conference met at Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, May 12, 1857. In consequence of 
the large number of new conferences created at 
the preceding session, the membership of the 
present conference was greatly increased, there 
being sixty-two delegates in attendance. Pros- 
perity had crowned the labors of the preceding 
four years. The United Brethren Church had 
obtained its full share of the results of the great 
revival throughout the United States in 1856. 
The bishops, in their address, said : " The object 
for which our fathers, under God, founded the 
Church, namely, the extension of the Redeemer's 
kingdom, in the salvation of souls, is the all- 
absorbing theme among our ministers and people. 
The great Head of the church has been with us 
in a remarkable degree." The statistics of the 
Church, the first that were carefully compiled 
from actual reports, showed the membership to 
be 61,399. There were differences of opinion on 
many subjects that came before the conference, 
but beneath all differences there was a dominating 
spirit of unity. 

Bishop Glossbrenner moved that the committee 
on revision be instructed to report favorably to 
laying the question of lay delegation before the 



160 



LIFE OF (JLOSSBRENNER, 



Church. Though the motion did not prevail, he 
thus for himself indicated a conviction to which 
he remained deeply devoted. 

The question of the subjects of baptism had 
for some time occasioned unrest and irritation in 
the Church. Some persons spoke disparagingly 
of infant baptism. He earnestly sought, both at 
this and the preceding session of General Confer- 
ence, to have the convictions and practice of all 
respected. The spirit of concession and liberality 
at the founding of the Church certainly took for 
granted that there should be the same liberty as 
to the subjects of baptism that there was to be as 
to the mode. This view prevailed at this session 
of the General Conference. 

The question awaited with most interest was 
the depravity question. The settlement at the 
preceding session was no settlement at all, the 
real difficulty not being touched. After various 
motions were made, the subject was referred to 
the committee on revision, who, after mature 
consideration, reported the following question for 
candidates for the ministry : " Do you believe that 
man, abstract of the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, is fallen from original righteousness, and 
is inclined to evil and only evil continually?" 
The subject was pondered, rather than discussed. 
Almost all seemed inclined to accept the report 



^-V-^igustus Robin, NX 



BISHOP J. J. GL0S5BRENNER4859. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



161 



as the settlement of a question that had given rise 
to grave anxieties. The sincerity of both sides 
was conceded. Bishop Edwards was in the chair. 
Bishop Glossbrenner was standing near him 
resting his hands on the back of a chair. One or 
two members were content to hold their misgiv- 
ings in silence. The question was put. The 
result of the vote was fifty-seven in favor of the 
report, to one opposing. The joy caused by 
passing safely this crisis caused many to shed 
tears. Bishop Glossbrenner leaned forward over 
the chair on which he was resting his hands, and 
wept like a child. The question was settled, 
and has remained settled. The reason why a 
settlement was possible may quite readily be seen. 
There was not a radical difference in doctrine, but 
rather a difference in view, caused by looking 
from different standpoints. One side said that 
we must take man as he is found, as he exhibits 
himself, that man destitute of all noble feeling 
and purpose, is purely a hypothetical being, that 
divine grace had kept man from passing into such 
character. Thus they took the standpoint subse- 
quent to the bestowment of grace, and from this 
standpoint it would be difficult to prove them 
incorrect. The other side held that there were 
points that this view did not reach, and that it was 

easy from this standpoint at once to minify the 
11 



162 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



loss that man had sustained, and the grace that 
brought salvation. Carried out, this second view 
meant that actual man, not hypothetical man, is 
found hack of the grace that has been lent him; 
that a definition of man's moral character should 
take into view what be holds in his own right, 
and not what be has the mere use of, even though 
grace should have continued it with our first 
parents, and it be descended in the form of' an 
economy under regular laws of inheritance to all 
of their posterity. Tins grace, received without 
volition, does not root out or cover all unholiness. 
It may be viewed as a platform sustaining man 
on a salvable plane, and continuing to him moral 
ability. It may also be regarded under the figure 
of a covering, through the crevices and seams of 
wbich unutterable corruption and hopeless weak- 
ness may be seen, and a glimpse obtained of what 
man is in himself. Now which one of these 
standpoints should be taken? The same men 
sometimes take one and sometimes the other. 
The Scriptures, to a certain extent, do the same 
thing. It is settled, however, by the experience 
of the church from the apostles down, that when 
men are speaking theologically, in which case the 
view must answer to the strictest fact, the stand- 
point anterior to grace must be taken. Confusion 
and ruinous inferences are thus avoided. Man is 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



163 



made humble and divine grace is honored. At 
the same time men are to be warned that they 
will be held accountable for all that grace has put 
within their reach, are to be addressed as at 
present capacitated, without its being necessary to 
explain at every moment that this strength was 
forfeited, but in its present measure graciously 
continued. Thus, according to our purpose, we 
may use now one conception and now the other. 
We must however know, and be able to make 
known the standpoint that we take. The 
definition as adopted in 1857 had been broached 
at the General Conference four years before, but 
both parties were trying to reconcile their views 
from the post-promise standpoint, while much in 
the language used suited better the opposite 
standpoint. In the history of differences in 
ecclesiastical bodies there are few parallels to the 
happy issue above described. Happy was it for 
the conference and the Church that a settlement 
that did not compromise truth, or involve unnec- 
essary humiliation or bitterness, was reached. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was again re-elected, 
Bishops Edwards and Davis being continued as 
his associates. He was returned to the East dis- 
trict. J. Russel was elected German bishop. 
A very impressive address was delivered by 
Bishop Glossbrenner, a fervent prayer was offered 



164 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



by Bishop Davis, and the benediction was pro- 
nounced by Bishop Edwards. 

The first year Bishop Glossbrenner held Mus- 
kingum, Erie, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, East 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Canada, and Parkers- 
burg conferences. The last named was organized 
by him. Among the charter members of this 
conference were J. Bachtel, Z. Warner and J. W. 
Perry. The second and third years he visited the 
same conferences. He traveled largely through 
his district, making special visits to Tennessee 
and Canada. In this period he labored also for 
the establishment of the first English congrega- 
tion in Baltimore. 

He officiated frequently at the dedication of 
churches. In November, 1859, he dedicated a 
new church on Hagerstown Circuit. He then 
went to Morgan County, Virginia, to dedicate 
another church. A large congregation assembled, 
filling the house and occupying the ground about 
it. Just as he was reading his text, news came 
that the governor of the State had issued orders 
that the militia of Morgan County must be in 
Bath by two o'clock. Great excitement prevailed, 
but still the congregation was held together. 
But just as the appeal was about to be made for a 
small amount of money to clear the house of in- 
debtedness, other exciting news was received, 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



165 



and the congregation broke up completely, some 
escaping through the windows and all disappear- 
ing beyond recall. This was in the time of the 
John Brown excitement, in the period between 
Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry and his execu- 
tion. Here we have a portent of the long and 
bloody struggle and the great social disturbances 
that were at the door. 

In noticing the work of the last year of the 
quadrennium, we will be a little more minute and 
full, as this will prove the last year for a consider- 
able period when Bishop Glossbrenner's labors 
will extend over any considerable portion of the 
Church. The most of the conferences this year 
were held by others, Bishop Glossbrenner and 
Rev. J. Lawrence holding the largest number of 
them. Bishop Glossbrenner first met with Min- 
nesota Conference at Rice Lake, Minnesota, 
August 10, 1860. Among the ministers present 
were E. Clow, M. L. Tibbetts, J. Haney and J. W. 
Fulkerson, the two latter having been co-laborers 
with him in Virginia. He next held Iowa Confer- 
ence at West Union, Iowa. Among the members 
present were S. Weaver, D. Wenrich, M. Bowman, 
W. W. Richardson and C. Briggs. Rev. George 
Miller, a member of acknowledged ability, whose 
labors had been mostly bestowed in the East, had 
died during the year. Rev. J. Lawrence, the 



166 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



editor of the Religious Telescope, added the inspir- 
ation of his presence. Rock River Conference 
was held at Spring Hill, Illinois. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner preached the conference sermon with his 
accustomed earnestness and power. Bishops 
Glossbrenner and Davis were both present at the 
session of Miami Conference at Beavertown, 
Ohio, and assisted Bishop Edwards in presiding. 
Bishop Glossbrenner preached the conference 
sermon. 

The first conference on his own district was 
the Muskingum which met at Perry ville, Ohio. 
J. Weaver was elected chairman. J. A. Cray ton 
was chosen one of the presiding elders. Many 
members, year by year, had been received into 
this conference, and many preachers had been 
raised up. The conference suffered much, how- 
ever, from emigration. Nearly a thousand mem- 
bers had been received during the past year. On 
Sabbath, Bishop Glossbrenner preached in the 
" leafy grove." Erie Conference met at Pleasant- 
ville, Pennsylvania. Sixteen preachers were re- 
ceived, besides those coming on transfers, and 
eight were ordained. More than a thousand 
members had been received into the Church. 
There were five presiding elder's districts. J. G. 
Baldwin, C. Carter, and J. Hill were among the 
members present. Allegheny Conference met at 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



167 



Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Among those ordained 
were H. A. Thompson, G. W. M. Rigor, and 
E. B. Kephart. I. Potter, J. R. Sitman and J. B. 
Resler were elected the presiding elders. East 
Pennsylvania Conference convened at Pine Grove, 
Pennsylvania. Nearly a thousand members had 
been received. John Christian Smith, one of the 
devoted pioneer preachers, had died during the 
year. Among those ordained were E. Light and 
J. Young. The conference requested their dele- 
gates to vote for the re-election of Bishop Gloss- 
brenner. Pennsylvania Conference met at York, 
Pennsylvania. Here Bishop Glossbrenner had his 
home with his brother, Hon. A. J. Glossbrenner. 
On Sabbath D. Eberly, II. W. Rebok, and II. Y. 
Hummelbaugh were ordained. 

Virginia Conference met at Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, Ex-Bishop Erb was present and was asked 
to serve as chairman. Rev. S. Yoneida was 
present, representing the publishing house. J. 
Markwood was elected presiding elder over the 
whole conference formed into one district. The 
setting off* of Parkersburg Conference in 1857 
had greatly reduced the extent of territory. The 
work in Virginia Conference was difficult, espe- 
cially for an anti-slavery church. But the hard- 
ship along with the steadfast devotion of the 
Church developed an earnestness and intensity 



168 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



of life rarely found elsewhere. The preachers of 
the conference laid great stress on conversion and 
experimental godliness. Preachers and people 
were characterized by a thrilling experience and 
a bold confession of Christ. Held back by prej- 
udice and depleted by emigration, Virginia 
Conference was yet far from being a forlorn 
hope. Parkersburg Conference met at Union 
Church, Mason County, Virginia. The confer- 
ence was growing rapidly. A subscription for 
missions was taken, amounting to over five 
hundred dollars. At the various annual confer- 
ence sessions, year by year, amounts, varying 
from a few hundred dollars to two or three thou- 
sand, were subscribed either for missions or for 
educational purposes. Canada Conference con- 
vened at Young's Chapel, Niagara Circuit, March 
28, 1861. A. B. Sherk, D. B. Sherk, and J. G. 
Mosher were present. 

Bishop Glossbrenner had now filled the office 
of bishop for sixteen years. The great civil war, 
which was just at the threshold, made a broad 
gap in his work as a bishop in the Church, thus 
dividing into two not very unequal parts the 
period that he spent in the bishop's office. His 
work before the war was somewhat dissimilar to 
what it was afterward, as the character of the 
Church in the later period was quite different 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



169 



from what it was in the earlier period. In the 
earlier period the Church was more to itself, in- 
dividual feeling was stronger and was given a 
freer field. Denominational zeal was intense and 
triumphant. In these sixteen years Bishop 
Olosshrenner had ordained over three hundred 
ministers. 

In the pulpit he was even, strong, and possessed 
of an ineffable power in reaching the hearts and 
exciting the best feelings of men. In an article 
written in 1856, the following, in respect to his 
energy in preaching, occurs: " "No preacher of 
ordinary constitution should copy his voice, un- 
less he is tired of his life. "Not one man in a 
thousand could preach a quarter of a century as 
Mr. Glossbrenner has done. Let no young man 
out of love for the man attempt to modulate his 
voice a la Glossbrenner " His conference sermons 
were noted for their suitability to the ministers, 
to whom they were addressed. One of his favorite 
texts was: " But none of these things move me," 
etc., (Acts 20:21.) A number of the most suc- 
cessful itinerants of Allegheny Conference once 
came up to the session of the conference and 
asked to be given a local relation. On Sabbath 
the bishop preached with great power from the 
text just quoted, showing the solemn grandeur of 
the work of the faithful minister. The preachers 



170 



lite of glossbkeis 2s EE- 



reversed their decision, and, though late, were 
glad to take work. 

In his examination of ministers, he was some- 
times quite strict, using what he was pleased to 
call the " fine sieve/ 3 His presence and example 
were ever a stimulus to higher character and 
truer self-respect as men, and greater faithfulness 
as Christian ministers. When to talk meant to 
vie with others in light conversation or in any 
way a sacrifice of self-respect, he held his peace. 

His health was firm and his endurance un- 
surpassed. His appearance was still youthful. 
His name had "been so long before the Church 
that some who had not seen him thought him to 
he an elderly man. On one occasion, on being 
introduced to an aged brother, he was asked if 
he was old Father Glossbrenner's son. He replied 
that he was the old gentleman himself. With 
the exception of at times wearing short side whis- 
kers his face was uniformly clean-shaven. It was 
something of a motto with him that a minister 
should have a clean face and a pure heart. He 
impressed everyone that tidiness and gentility 
were entirely consistent with godliness. 

About 1855 he sold his place on Middle Eiver, 
where he had been living since 1813, with a view 
to moving to Ohio ; but on the death, in the same 
year, of his daughter who had been married to 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENSTER. 



171 



Rev. D. K. Mickinger and was living in Ohio, he 
changed his purpose and took up his residence in 
Churchville. Church ville assumed the character 
of a village about 18-30, and in 1847 attained the 
rank of a post-office village. It still remains a 
small hamlet sequestered amid lofty hills. In 
plain view about it are bold heights and the 
outlines of mountain ranges. It is the trading 
center of the broken and romantic country about 
it. It owed its name to the fact that two churches 
were located there at an early day. More lately 
the churches have been increased to four, not 
including a small rneeting-house occupied by the 
colored people. By the village Hows a stream, 
known as Jennings' Branch, which gave its name 
to the place before a village name was necessaiy. 
The people of Churchville and the neighboring 
country, like the people of Augusta County in 
general, are of the most sturdy and most intelli- 
gent classes of the Old Dominion. In the South 
the best and most honored people have not been 
wont to seek the towns. In or adjoining this 
quiet, unpretending village, Bishop Glossbrenner 
found a home congenial to his tastes. Here, 
when his rounds of labor were performed, he 
found a retreat and drew comfort and strength 
from all that was noble in nature and all that was 
sweet in home. He lived in a rented property for 



172 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER. 



about two years. He then bought a small tract 
of land about one mile from Church ville and 
placed suitable and tasteful improvements upon 
it. To this place he gave the name Floral Hill. 
It was a pleasant place to reside, and much of the 
family history was connected with this home. 

The following paragraph written in 1860, in 
which Bishop Glossbrenner refers to the charge 
industriously circulated, that he was not clear of 
the sin of slavery, gives a glimpse of his house- 
hold: "As regards myself, I have to say that I 
never have been, am not now, and, unless my 
opinions should be very much changed from what 
they are now (which I think is not likely to be 
the case), I never shall be connected with slavery. 
I have living with me at this time a colored girl 
about twelve or fourteen years old who was born 
free, and a little colored girl that I am trying to 
rear and educate properly, whose freedom is 
secured to her in writing when she is twenty-one 
years old, and also a little Irish boy who is placed 
in my care till he is twenty-one. These compose 
all who are under my care with the exception of 
my own children." The slave child mentioned 
was one of the children of the slave woman 
belonging to Christian Shuey, before referred to. 
Christian Shuey neither sold nor gave away slaves. 
About 1855, this child, when three years old, was 



LIFE OP GLOSSBRENNER. 



173 



taken into Bishop Glossbrenner's household. 
She was owned neither by Mr. nor Mrs. Gloss- 
brenner, her freedom having previously been 
stipulated by Christian Shuey, who afterward 
provided by will for the freedom of all his slaves, 
when they should reach certain years. The care 
which Bishop Glossbrenner bestowed upon the 
less fortunate ones whom he took to reside with 
him, assisted them to a position in which they 
were able to provide well and honorably for 
themselves. Living in a slave state, he did not 
fail to urge upon the whites, whether slave- 
owners or not, their obligation to look after the 
spiritual welfare of the oppressed race. 

He early saw his children converted and taking 
their place as members of the Church. He sought 
carefully to guide their spiritual growth and 
prudently and tenderly to guard their welfare in 
every respect. While he was affectionate even to 
fondness, he did not injure or imperil by over- 
indulgence. His home was to him a comfort and 
an inspiration, and to others it was a pattern of 
what a Christian home should be. 



CHAPTER Yin. 



General Conference of 1861 — Returned to East District — 
Shut Up Within the Confederate Lines — His Work 
During the War — Preaches to Southern Soldiers — His 
Loyalty to the Union — Journey Through the Lines 
and Return — Close of the War — General Conference of 
1865 — His Course During the War x\pproved — "Ob- 
noxious Resolution" — Controvers}' with McCue — 
Welcomed on the East District — Holds His Conferences 
— General Questioning. 

The thirteenth General Conference met at 
Westerville, Ohio, May 13, 1861. At no time 
before had the rate of increase equaled that of 
the preceding four years, and at no time since 
has the rate been excelled. The membership was 
now 94,453. The increase in four years had been 
more than thirty-three thousand. The accession 
of such large numbers of new members would 
put to severe test the traditional principles of the 
Church — challenge their correctness, if not modify 
their character. Ninety delegates, besides the 
four bishops, were entitled to seats in the General 
Conference. The secrecy question, in different 
forms, received the attention of the conference. 
Lay delegation and pro rata representation re- 
ceived no considerable encouragement. The 

174 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



175 



business of the conference was faithfully and 
satisfactorily attended to. 

Bishops Glossbrenner and Edwards were re- 
elected. The third bishop selected was Rev. J. 
Markwood, whose name has already often been 
mentioned. Rev. Daniel Shuck; of Indiana Con- 
ference, was elected bishop of the Pacific district. 
Bishop Glossbrenner was returned to the East 
district. He had taken no prominent part in 
the proceedings of the General Conference. His 
mind, as well as to a great extent the minds of 
all, was occupied with grave forebodings as to 
the issue of national affairs. He had not been 
present at the session of the Board of Missions, 
which met just before the General Conference. 
The Confederacy had already been inaugurated. 
Sumter had been compelled to surrender, and 
excitement everywhere prevailed. Virginia, the 
state in which his home was situated, had cast 
her lot with the Confederacy. Bishop Glossbren- 
ner had been a Whig and a great admirer of 
Henry Clay. Of the four candidates for the 
presidency in the field in 1860, he had preferred 
to cast his vote for John Bell, of Tennessee, the 
candidate of the Constitutional Union party, to 
which party the Whigs in the southern states 
naturally tended. 

Bishop Glossbrenner returned home after the 



176 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



adjournment of the General Conference, and im- 
mediately all communication with the North was 
out off. When the first word was received from 
him, about the middle of August, he had not 
after his return home received a letter or paper 
from the North. He managed in August to send 
a letter by a circuitous route to the North, asking 
that some one attend for him his conferences in 
Ohio. He had not before this in the sixteen 
years of his work as superintendent, failed to 
meet his conferences according to appointment. 
In this letter he said: "As to national matters, 
I will only say that I am praying daily that God 
may have mercy on us and restore peace once 
more to our country." He closed by saying, 
" The preachers in Virginia are on their fields 
doing all that they can." 

From this time we follow him as fully as we 
are able to trace him on the Confederate side of 
the lines. His home was in the Shenandoah 
Valley, the scene of a large part of the opera- 
tions of the war, and was included in Confederate 
territory till the final collapse of the Confederacy. 
It is not necessary that extended references 
be made to battles and campaigns, or even 
to the condition of the people south of the line. 
His life and his life's errand were on the side 
of the kingdom of peace. The prejudice with 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENXER. 



177 



which the United Brethren Church, as an 
anti-slavery church, was regarded, was now 
fanned into a flame by the exciting events of the 
times, and moreover all ordinary restraints were 
removed. At the time it was thought by many 
that Bishop Glossbrenner's duty and -his safety 
alike required that he should seek to escape to 
the Xorth. But even if it had been possible, he 
felt that it was his duty to remain. His family, 
his wife's relatives, what property he possessed, 
all were in the South. He felt, too, that his duty 
to the Church required him to remain, and it has 
been stated by many persons in a situation to be 
acquainted with the facts, that his remaining in 
Virginia was the means, more than anything 
else, of preserving the United Brethren Church 
in Virginia throughout the long and fearful 
struggle. He was widely known throughout the 
state of Virginia, and was admired as a preacher 
and respected as a man by all classes of society. 
His prudence and his counsels were a guide to 
the Church, and the veneration for him was 
largely its shield. Bishop Markwood, who had 
been assigned to the AVest Mississippi district, 
with the understanding that he would move to 
his district, came out of Virginia through the 
lines, and through the war made his home in the 
ISorth . 

12 



178 LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER, 

The preachers south of the Confederate lines 
met regularly for four years in annual conference 
sessions, while that portion of Virginia Confer- 
ence, lying north of the lines, had likewise its 
regular sessions. The southern half met first at 
Edenhurg, February 14, 1862. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner opened the conference by reading the 
first chapter of II. Timothy and by " an affec- 
tionate and appropriate address." Three of the 
faithful preachers during this trying period were 
J. W. Howe, C. B. Hammack, and G-. Rymal. At 
this session the itinerant force was strengthened 
by the reception into the conference of J. W. 
Hott, J. K Nelson, C. T. Stearn, A. M. Evers, 
J. M. Cantor, and H. A, Bovey. T. Brashear 
was elected presiding elder. At one time during 
the ensuing year the Federal forces under General 
Banks swept up the valley and rescued a large 
territory from the Confederates. Encouraged by 
this, Rev. Brashear, the presiding elder, ventured 
publicly to pray for the success of the Union 
arms. On the return of the Confederates he was 
compelled to flee for his life. He passed through 
the lines, advising other United Brethren preach- 
ers to follow, as it was unsafe to remain. 

In 1863 the conference met at Keezletown. At 
this session J. W. Iviracofe was received as a 
member. " In view of the distressed condition 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRBNNER. 



179 



of the country, the wickedness of the unconverted, 
and the lukewarmness of professed Christians," 
the conference resolved that they, by the help of 
God, would use their " greatest efforts to dis- 
seminate the principles of reformation, morality, 
and religion, and know nothing among the people 
hut Christ and him crucified." Bishop Gloss- 
brenner was asked to serve as presiding elder. 

In 1864 the conference met at Freeden's Church 
in Rockingham County, and in 1865 at Mt. Zion 
Church in Augusta County. At each of these 
conferences Bishop Glossbrenner was asked to 
serve as presiding elder. In 1865 his salary 
w r as made " seven hundred dollars, Confederate 
paper." 

• During the war he was cheerful, courageous, 
and as fully occupied in preaching as at any 
time since he was elected bishop. lie preached 
frequently and at times somewhat regularly for 
other denominations. But one church building 
was erected by the United Brethren south of the 
lines during the war, and for that he crossed the 
lines into West Virginia in order to obtain the 
glass. He preached frequently to audiences of 
Confederate soldiers. Once he preached at the 
request of Stonewall Jackson. At another time, 
just after the battle of Manassus, he preached from 
a stump to a large audience of southern soldiers, 



180 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



preaching a sermon that was very impressive and 
often spoken of. At one time a southern soldier, 
after hearing him preach, remarked that he had 
often thought that he would like to hear Paul 
preach, but that now he was satisfied, for he had 
heard a preacher that came up to his idea of Paul. 

Bishop Glossbrenner on one occasion made a 
special visit, taking a number of others with him, 
to see General Jackson. In conversation with 
the general, he remarked: "I cannot wish you 
success, but my daughters who are with me can." 
Jackson, who was as famous for his prayers as 
for his battles, was not offended at this frankness. 
Bishop Glossbrenner' s daughters — three of them 
were living at home at this time — inclined in 
their sympathies, with most who were about 
them, to the southern cause. It w^as with plea- 
surable devotion that they met with others to 
scrape lint to be applied to the wounds of those 
wounded in battle. 

It was generally well understood that Bishop 
Glossbrenner did not sympathize with the 
southern cause. The wife of a southern officer 
had her home with the Bishop's family. This 
officer frequently, for longer or shorter periods, 
was at the Bishop's house. Some of the Confed- 
erate officers were anxious for something more 
explicit with reference to the Bishop's sentiments. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



181 



They therefore asked the officer whether he had 
heard him express any decided sentiments. The 
officer replied that he had not. They then said, 
" Does he pray in his family?" The answer was, 
" He never fails to pray." It was then asked, 
"On which side does he pray?" The officer 
replied, "If everybody prayed like Bishop Gloss- 
brenner, there would never be any war." The 
officer could doubtless have discovered more of 
information to his superiors, had not his friend- 
ship for the Bishop inclined him to reticence. 

At the close of 1863, Bishop Glossbrenner 
applied to the Confederate authorities for a pass 
with a view to attending Pennsylvania Confer- 
ence, as also the northern half of Virginia Con- 
ference. This pass was obtained from President 
Davis, and his adjutant general, Cooper, through 
the influence of Colonel Baldwin, a representa- 
tive in the Confederate congress. He took with 
him his daughter Josie, then eighteen vears of 
age, and journeyed north in a carriage. It was 
his desire to enter the Union lines at Martins- 
burg, and to cross the Potomac from that point. 
The first Union picket that he met was a young- 
Mr. Bonewell, son of Pev. J. W. Bonewell, of 
the United Brethren Church. This young man 
recognized him, having seen him at his father's 
house at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He was 



182 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



obliged to detain him until he obtained permis- 
sion to admit him. Once within the lines, the 
authorities at "Washington were applied to by 
telegraph to grant permission for him to cross 
the Potomac into Maryland. But the regula- 
tions were so strict with reference to crossing in 
the neighborhood of Martinsburg, that the desired 
permission could not be obtained. 

Bishop Grlossbrenner then returned to near 
"Winchester to the home of Rev. Jacob Hott. 
Rev. Jacob Hott had accompanied him to Mar- 
tinsburg. At this time his son, Rev. J. W r . Hott, 
returned from his circuit. Bishop Glossbrenner 
had not seen him for a considerable time, as after 
he joined the conference in 1862 his field had 
been for the most part north of the confederate 
lines. When the Bishop met him he kissed him. 
Rev. J. W. Hott told him that he was satisfied 
that he could pass through Morgan County and 
cross the Potomac at another point where the 
authorities were not so strict. He loaned him 
some money and accompanied him. The bishop 
preached several times on week nights on the 
way. They came to the house of Mr. John Daw- 
son, an honored member of the United Brethren 
Church, and a well-known and widely influential 
man. Largely through the influence of Mr. 
Dawson, the Bishop was permitted to cross at 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



183 



Alpine, landing at Hancock on the Maryland 
side. He first went to Hagerstown. After a 
short halt, he went by railroad to Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania, having received a special invitation 
from friends. He was dressed in a well worn 
suit of gray, such as was almost universally worn 
in the South, lie looked haggard and much 
older than he did two years before. 

Bishop Markwood was summoned by telegraph 
to meet Bishop Glossbrenner at Chambersburg. 
When he came and met Bishop Glossbrenner 
in Brother J. Hoke's parlor, he fell on his neck, 
and great sobs told the depth of his feelings. 
Bishop Glossbrenner, too, was deeply moved. 
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. They 
then sat down and told each other of their expe- 
riences since they had last seen each other. "When 
it was announced that Bishop Glossbrenner 
would preach, the house was thronged with peo- 
ple who expected him to say something about 
conditions in the South. But he did not speak 
of these things. Afterward Bishop Markwood 
addressed a meeting called with a view to obtain- 
ing funds for a refugee United Brethren preacher 
from Virginia, whose house had been sacked by 
the Confederates. With all the power of invective 
he denounced southern rebels and their northern 
sympathizers. The intense Union feeling at 



184 



LIFE OF GLOSSBEE^NER. 



Chambersburg was naturally displeased with the 
reticence of Bishop Glossbrenner. Letters also 
came from friends in various parts of the Church, 
in which, if his loyalty to the Union was not 
called in question, it was at least pressed upon 
him to make decisive statements as to his senti- 
ments and conduct, something which he could 
not do, as he expected to repass the lines and 
continue to reside as before. 

In order to return, it was necessary that he 
should have a pass from the Federal authorities. 
Brother Hoke, accompanied by Col. A. X. Mc- 
Clure, the present editor of the Philadelphia Times, 
went with him to see Major General Couch, 
commander of the military district of the Sus- 
quehanna. The General received him kindly, 
asked questions in regard to southern officers 
with whom he had been acquainted before the 
war, and then asked in regard to the condition 
of the southern army. Bishop Glossbrenner said 
that he knew nothing that would be advantageous 
to the Union cause, and if he did, he would feel 
himself under obligation to communicate nothing 
in view of his being away on a pass. The Gen- 
eral responded, " That is all we ask of you when 
you return — to keep silence as to what would be 
of aid to our enemies." He added that of course 
he had no objection to his telling what he saw, 



LIFE OE GLOSSBREXXER. 



185 



namely, that the whole country was a training 
camp, and swarming with preparation for the 
spring campaign. The Bishop answered that he 
was fully aware of the obligations under which 
he would be placed by receiving a pass, and 
would consider himself bound as stated. General 
Couch gave him a pass which was good as far 
as his authority extended. On another occasion 
when General Couch was present he asked the 
Bishop's daughter to sing " Bonny Blue Flag" and 
•'Dixie." He wanted to hear a southern ^irl sing" 
them. The bishop's stay at Chambersburg was 
in the early part of February, 1864. He did not 
reach the ?s"orth in time for Pennsylvania Confer- 
ence. His friends at Chambersburg made him a 
present of a suit of clothes. It was not just to 
their notion to see their bishop attired in gray. 
Besides, his suit was much the worse for wear. 

On his way home he presided over the northern 
half of Virginia Conference at Boonsboro, Mary- 
land. Here J. X. Xelson, J. W. Hott, and 
•J. Harp were ordained. This part of the con- 
ference had been quite successful in its work, 
notwithstanding the interruptions of the war. 
Bishop Markwood was also present. After some 
of his fiery remarks with reference to the rebels, 
Bishop Glossbrenner turned to some one who was 
present and simply said, "Jakie is very much 



186 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



excited." It is due to say that while their tem- 
peraments were just the reverse of each other, 
the relations between Bishop Glossbrenner and 
Bishop Markwood were never strained, and that 
they remained one in sympathy, in labors, and 
patient endurance of hardness. 

Before returning, Bishop Glossbrenner pur- 
chased a wedding outfit for his daughter Cornelia. 
On his return he crossed the Potomac as he 
came, preached a number of times in Virginia on 
the Union side of the lines, and proceeded toward 
his home. His return course was much more 
difficult than his passage down the valley. He 
was compelled to journey a part of the way by 
night, walking in front and holding a handker- 
chief at his back so that his daughter could see to 
drive. Going down the valley he had secreted 
his horse one night in a sm®ke-house. 

On this trip he drove a horse by the name of 
Jackson. On the Maryland side of the Potomac, 
in speaking to his horse he called him Jackie. 
This was afterward told at his expense, as though 
he felt aware that the name Jackson was not so 
popular in Federal territory. The horse was well 
under the Bishop's control as indicated by an 
incident. Mr. and Mrs. Glossbrenner were once 
riding behind him when he became frightened 
and started to run away. In the effort to hold 



LLFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



187 



him the lines broke. The Bishop calling him by 
name said, "Wow Jackson, you wont run off with 
us," and thus continued to talk to him till he 
quieted down and stopped. 

The burning of Chambersburg occurred a few 
months after the Bishop's return. The Confed- 
eracy lingered for a year, drawing its support from 
the very wretchedness of the people, and inflict- 
ing upon them every hardship by the endeavor to 
maintain the hopeless struggle. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner was subjected to no losses save what fell 
to him in common with the people about him, 
through the impoverished condition of the coun- 
try. At the wedding of Rev. J. W. Kiracofe, at 
which good coffee was served, the Bishop re- 
marked, " This tastes like the United States." 

He continued to preach and serve the Church 
in Virginia, notwithstanding the dangers and 
embarrassments, which increased as the war ap- 
proached its close. He sometimes preached 
while the roar of cannon was plainly heard. One 
of his subjects for these troublous times was 
"The Peaceable Kingdom of our Lord." The 
most extreme calamity of the people of the Shen- 
andoah Valley, was the ravaging of the valley by 
Sheridan to cut off supplies for Richmond. But 
what seemed to be a calamity proved a blessing, 
as it hastened the inevitable, and at the same 



188 



LIFE OF GKLOSSBKENNEIt. 



time lessened the cost in human life. Bishop 
Glossbrenner preached at Evers' school-house on 
the very day when Richmond fell; preaching 
with wonderful power on the text, "He that 
belie veth not is condemned already." After the 
sermon a lady of unusual intelligence remarked, 
" That man knows what is in the hearts of all 
men." At this meeting a collection was taken 
amounting to one hundred and ninety -two dollars 
Confederate currency. While the United Breth- 
ren preachers were compelled to handle Confed- 
erate money, they lost fully as little by so doing 
as any other class of persons. They did not give 
it time to depreciate in their hands. 

Richmond fell on the night of April 2, 1865, 
but a remnant of the Confederacy still remained. 
It was now time for the next session of the 
General Conference. Bishop Glossbrenner had 
been in doubt as to whether he would be able to 
attend, but he was urged by his friends on the 
Union side of the lines to make the effort. 
Without much difficulty he passed down the 
valley and crossed the Potomac and came to 
Clear Springs, Maryland. He proceeded to Lis- 
bon, Iowa, where he met with the Board of 
Missions, May 9, 1865. To a great extent he was 
a stranger. He had not met with the Board of 
Missions since 1860. Things throughout the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER, 



189 



country had progressed beyond measure since the 
beginning of the war. Of the four political 
parties in 1860, none expected or demanded the 
abolition of slavery in the states where it already 
existed. Slavery was now of the past. The 
Uuited Brethren of the Xorth had been loyal to 
a fault in support of the Union cause. It was 
resolved by the Board of Missions, " in view of 
the antecedent history of the United Brethren 
Church, that it was peculiarly fit and incumbent 
upon it", to occupy the Southern field. But, alas, 
the reward of moral pioneering and past fidelity 
was not to be so easily reached. If God always 
rewarded at once, and in kind akin to losses 
sustained, all service would be for a consideration. 
Prejudice on the one side and lack of adaptation 
on the other have made the South to a large 
extent a closed field to the United Brethren 
Church. 

General Conference met at Western, Iowa, 
May 11, 1865. The bishops' address indicated 
fair advances, especially along certain lines. In 
the number of members there was a reported loss 
of 4,642. This was accounted for by the inevitable 
losses of the war, the voluntary withdrawal of 
some " from sympathy with treason/' and the 
dismissal of others " for the same cause." 

Bishop Glossbrenner, ascertaining that reports 



190 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



were in circulation assailing his loyalty during 
the war, asked the privilege of making a state- 
ment to the conference. He spoke in substance 
as follows : 

Four j^ears ago when we last met in quadrennial 
session, the circumstances under which we assembled 
were vastly different from those under which we are 
assembled now. Then we were just on the eve of the 
terrible war which has since swept with its destroying 
force over the land. Now the conference, the country, 
and indeed the whole world rejoice in the victories of the 
Union and the prospect of immediate peace. My share 
in this rejoicing was equally great, until after coming to 
this conference, I learned that my lo3^alty to the county 
and faithfulness to the Church were suspected. Since 
then my peace has been disturbed. 

I feel it to be due to the conference and to the Church 
that I make a statement of the course I have pursued 
during the war. From the last General Conference I 
went, bound in spirit, to my home in Virginia, not 
knowing what would befall me there. I found the 
people in a state of great excitement. The hearts of 
many of our people w r ere sinking within them. They 
asked what shall we do ? I answered, " Stand still, and 
all will be well." A small proportion thought it would 
be best to establish a southern United Brethren Church. 
I rejoice that such a church was never set up by the 
United Brethren in Christ. 

The question has been asked why I did not leave 
Virginia and go to the North. I felt it to be my duty to 
remain with the Church and to link my fortunes with 
theirs. There were hours of gloom, of darkness, of deep, 



LIFE OF SLOSSBRENNEB,. 



191 



deep distress. But we could go to God for help. I felt 
it to be my duty to stay and strengthen the -weak, com- 
fort the afflicted, and, if possible, keep the flock together. 
If I had left, others would have left. If the ministers had 
all left, the Church would have been scattered and per- 
haps destroyed. The report has gone forth that I and 
m\- fellow-laborers were obliged to take the oath of 
allegiance to the Southern Confederacy. Such was not 
the fact. If such a proposition had been submitted, it 
would have been indignantly spurned. But we were free 
from conscription, and as long as we were allowed peace- 
fully to preach the gospel, we regarded it as our duty to 
remain with the flock and fulfill the duty of faithful 
shepherds. Doing this, the Church has been kept 
together. 

Happily I have not had to wait till to-day to declare 
my sentiments respecting the Church and the Govern- 
ment. I gave my testimony in the days of darkness and 
distress. The conference have known me for a long 
time. Can they believe my word ? I would be glad to 
have an expression. If any one is not full}- satisfied 
with me and my record, I hope he will say so. I cannot 
assist in presiding over this conference if I should think 
the members of the same suspect me of disloyalty to 
the Church or to the Government. 

This address carried at once the sympathies of 
the conference overwhelmingly to the side of 
Bishop Glossbrenner. A resolution of approval 
and confidence, moved by Bishop Markwood, 
was carried. Two members, however, dissented. 
Xear the close of the war Bishop Glossbrenner, 
whose course lay past where the Confederate 



192 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXEll. 



army was encamped, had, according to request, 
taken with him to the camp the horse belonging 
to Captain Hanger, who, in the spring of 1864, 
was married to his daughter. Those dissatisfied 
might have added that the Bishop had bought 
the wedding dress for his daughter, and in this 
way also had given aid and comfort to the 
enemies of the Government. Bishop Glossbren- 
ner readily admitted that he was compelled to do 
and endure many things contrary to his choice. 
His actions should be considered rather in the 
light of the conduct of the thousands of Union 
people in the South than according to the ideas 
of the zealous loyalists of the North. Henry 
Kumler, jr., at the time one of the bishops, was 
one of these most opposed to the course of 
Bishop Glossbrenner, and most emphatically did 
he indicate his displeasure. But, though harsh 
and even belligerent while occasions lasted, he 
was thoroughly honest, and when his spirit was 
soothed by time, could make due allowance for 
the situation and temperament of another. 
Speaking of the session of the Allegheny Con- 
ference, which occurred a few months later, he 
made the following entry : " At this conference 
I became reconciled to Bishop Glossbrenner. I 
have learned that caution, or rather conservatism 
is his infirmity, and that my own infirmities are 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



193 



much greater than his, no doubt." The sermon 
which Bishop Glossbrenner preached on the first 
Sabbath of the session, was remarkable for its 
tenderness and force, and drew to him in special 
nearness, the hearts of the members of the General 
Conference. 

While the conference was in session, news was 
brought that Jefferson Davis had been captured. 
Calls were made for a speech from Markwood, 
who at the time was presiding. He declined, 
saying that the business of the conference must 
go on without interruption. The cries being- 
persisted in, Bishop Markwood said: " The con- 
ference ought not to waste time in rejoicing over 
the capture of that infamous, villainous, black- 
hearted rebel." It was proposed that the doxol- 
ogy be sung. Bishop Glossbrenner remarked that 
if the doxology were sung, " it should be sung 
with feelings of reverence and true thankfulness." 
The doxology was sung. 

An event in the session was the introduction 
of the following resolution, on which the yeas 
and nays were called: " Resolved, That we are in 
favor of placing every inhabitant, black and 
white, on an equality before the law, and hereby 
pledge our influence and efforts to secure the 
complete enfranchisement of the negro with all 
the rights of an American citizen." All voted in 

13 



194 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



favor of the resolution except the delegates from 
Virginia and Parkersburg conferences. Bishop 
Glossbrenner voted for the resolution. While it 
expressed his sentiments, he did not regard its 
introduction as required, or the manner in which 
it was urged as properly considerate of what was 
involved. The resolution, known as the obnox- 
ious resolution, raised a worse storm in Virginia 
than any through which the Church had yet 
passed. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was re-elected bishop and 
assigned to the East district. Bishops Edwards, 
Markwood and Shuck were also re-elected. The 
new bishop elected at this conference was Rev. J. 
Weaver, of Muskingum Conference, the present 
well-known and honored senior bishop of the 
Church. The salary of bishops was made seven 
hundred and fifty dollars. 

The storm of prejudice which Bishop Gloss- 
brenner met on his return to Virginia was excited 
by Major McCue through some articles published 
in the Staunton Spectator. Fifteen years before, 
this same man as a magistrate had caused copies 
of the Religious Telescope to be burned in the 
public square by a village postmaster. In the 
first article, alluding to Bishop Glossbrenner and 
the United Brethren Church, he said: " The 
prominent man of this denomination has for 



LIFE OP GLOSSBRENNER. 



195 



years been a citizen of Augusta. He married in 
a highly respectable connection and has reared 
a most interesting family, and commanded the 
respect of all who knew him up to the session of 
the General Conference. . . . He was often 
invited to fill the pulpits of Presbyterians, Meth- 
odists, and Lutherans. . . . Whilst most 
persons thought his sympathies were with the 
North in our late conflict, yet they gave him 
credit for the quiet and prudent course that he 
pursued.'" In his articles he assailed the Church 
and appealed to prejudice, saying that the reso- 
lution of the General Conference meant social 
equality, if not intermarriages between the races. 

In reply Bishop Glossbrenner said. "If I must 
lose the esteem and respect of other denomina- 
tions because I have said a word in favor of the 
freedmen, so be it. I will still enforce the duty 
of doing justly to all men of every race and 
color." In another reply Bishop Glossbrenner 
wrote as follows: "It is still a subject of com- 
plaint that as ministers we failed to pray for the 
success of the Confederacy. To pray is a solemn 
act of worship, and I feel that I am responsible 
to God alone for the manner in which this duty is 
performed. With the light I had I could not see 
that it would be for the glory of God, for the 
good of his church, or for the happiness and 



196 



LIFE OE GLOSSBRENNER. 



prosperity of the people that the Confederacy 
should be established. Yet I felt that I was 
ignorant and short-sighted, and consequently 
that it was best to pray that God would defend 
the right and overrule all of our national troubles 
for his glory and the good of all men, in all con- 
ditions of society; and that he would make the 
wrath of men to praise him and the remainder 
of that wrath restrain." This paragraph, better 
than airything else, shows Bishop Glossbrenner's 
feelings and course in relation to the great civil 
war. In this, the only controversy through the 
press occurring in the long period of his public 
life, he showed himself no unskillful controver- 
sialist. He sharpl}^ referred to a four-column 
article of his opponent as presenting nothing 
formidable except the length; and in justifying 
his course in reference to the freedmen, brought 
forward the opinions of a number of southern 
statesmen. 

At the close of the war, Bishop Glossbrenner 
stood in the prime of his matured powers. He 
was still on the youth side of forty-five. As a 
bishop one half of his career was yet before him. 
The disadvantages that weighed upon the Church 
were largely removed. New duties and new 
diflicuities were to be met. The Church, in view, 
action, and life, was more nearly one with the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBPvENXFR. 



197 



nation and the churches of the land than ever 
before. 

The spirit of Bishop Glossbrenner and his kind 
reception by the people appear in the following 
paragraph from his pen : " Wherever I have 
visited thus far I have found a hearty welcome 
and have been treated in the kindest manner by 
my brethren, both in the ministry and laity. I 
often think that no one has greater reason to 
thank the Lord for good, firm, and tried friends 
than I have. They have stood by me in sunshine 
and in storm. God bless them, and may they 
always realize that in God they have a sympa- 
thizing and unchanging friend. And may God 
give me grace and wisdom that I may so live that 
none will ever be ashamed to say, ' I am Gloss- 
brenner' s friend.' " 

His susceptibility to friendship and gratitude is 
further indicated in the following language used 
by him after describing a visit to Baltimore: 
" The second Sabbath after leaving home was 
spent in Hagerstown, the place of my nativity. 
In this town I embraced salvation by faith in 
Christ. Here too I united with the Church of 
the United Brethren in Christ, and here I com- 
menced my labors as an itinerant minister of the 
gospel. In this place reside some of the tried 
friends of my youthful days in the ministry. 



198 



LIFE OF ULOSSBRENNER. 



whose kind deeds and Christian counsels will 
ever be held in grateful remembrance. It was 
gratifying to me to spend three or four days here, 
visiting and conversing with old acquaintances 
and preaching to the people the word of life. 

In the fall of 1865 Bishop Glossbrenner, after a 
tour to Parkersburg Conference, presided over 
Erie and Western Reserve conferences. His 
time between his conference sessions was now 
largely occupied with dedicating churches, and 
preaching here and there throughout his district. 
In the spring of 1866 he met his conferences in 
Pennsylvania, with the exception of the Pennsyl- 
vania, which was presided over by ex-Bishop 
Russel. 

At the session of East Pennsylvania Confer- 
ence the venerable ex-Bishop Russel was also 
present, and was requested by Bishop Gloss- 
brenner to close an afternoon session with 
remarks and prayer. He rose, and slowly and 
solemnly spoke as follows — "Dear brethren: I 
say dear brethren in sincerity and truth; not 
because it is customary, but because I feel that 
you are indeed dear to me. I have more hope 
now for the success of the United Brethren 
Church, than I have had for many years. It 
shall live. Viewing the different denominations, 
I think we are nearest the apostles. I have 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



199 



enjoyed this session of conference greatly, and 
likely it will be the last I shall be able to attend. 
In all probability, I shall soon be on earth no 
more. In Christ is my sole trust for time and for 
eternity.'* One who was present further describes 
that when, from feebleness and depth of emotion, 
the venerable father broke down and was unable 
to lead in prayer, Bishop Glossbrenner kneeling 
by his side, with a full heart led the devotions in 
his stead, and prayed with a tenderness and 
power unusually impressive. The sobbing of the 
people all over the large congregation could be 
heard, and to all present it was a most an°ecting 
time. 

Virginia Conference met at Rohrersville, Mary- 
land, February 8, 1866. The two parts which 
had been separated by the war, were now happy 
in being able to assemble together. The Church 
in Virginia had been much reduced and weak- 
ened. Bishop Markwood made the remark, 
tl There is no United Brethren Church in Vir- 
ginia." Bishop Markwood was present at the 
conference, utterly broken down, having been 
compelled to relinquish the work on his district. 
But the Church in Virginia was by no means all 
gone, and soon the reviving and gathering 
together became everywhere noticeable. The 
other conferences held by Bishop Glossbrenner 
were the Parkersburg and Canada. 



200 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



The rule against instrumental music in church 
services, had been violated by some of the con- 
gregations in the Church, especially the college 
congregation at Westerville, Ohio. Some of the 
conferences passed resolutions condemning the 
innovations. The bishops, Bishop Weaver not 
concurring, issued an address, asking that the 
rules of the Church be respected, that the peace 
and harmony of the Church might not be dis- 
turbed. Though Bishop Glossbrenner had no 
special objection to the use of instrumental music 
in worship, yet he wished to have all of the laws 
of the Church obeyed. 

The second and third years of the quadrennium 
Bishop Glossbrenner attended all of his confer- 
ences. November 22, 1866, he organized the 
Tennessee Mission Conference with five members 
in attendance. He greatly enjoyed meeting Rev. 
J. Reubush, the tried missionary. He has always 
taken a special interest in the work in Tennessee, 
partly, no doubt, because it is southern work. 

The conferences of the East district took action 
in 1867 on the question of securing a parsonage 
for the bishop of the district. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner used his influence to promote the 
enterprise. The result was the erection of an 
excellent bishop's parsonage in the city of 
Baltimore, into which Bishop Glossbrenner and 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



201 



his family moved in 1868. This made him more 
accessible and more convenient to the district. 
In 1867 Lebanon Valley College was founded, 
and of this institution he was an earnest friend 
and patron. 

In the fall of 1868 he expected to attend the 
conferences of the West Mississippi district in 
the place of Bishop Mark wood, who was not 
expected to be able to meet his conferences. But 
the latter surprised his friends by making a 
beginning on the district, though he was after- 
ward compelled to relinquish the undertaking. 

The last year of the quadrennium Bishop 
Glossbremier attended all of his conferences, with 
the exception of the Tennessee which was presided 
over by Rev. D. 3L Flickinger. Erie, Western 
Reserve, Pennsylvania, East Pennsylvania, Alleg- 
heny, Virginia, and Canada all passed resolutions 
highly complimentary to Bishop Glossbrenner. 
and requesting his return to the East district. 
Already for sixteen years he had been regularly 
in charge of this district. 

Toward the close of the quadrennium there 
was scarcely a subject connected with the polity 
or work ot the Church that was not under dis- 
cussion. Lay representation had the lead. Then 
followed pro rata representation and modification 
of the secrecy rule. The presiding elder's office 



202 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



and the bishop's office came in for their share of 
investigation. The state of the African mission 
occasioned serious perplexity. New questions 
were introducing themselves to attention and 
refused to be turned away without a reasonable 
answer. Bishop Glossbrenner, as a man who 
believed that the future might have something 
wiser and better to reveal, at any rate something 
that new conditions and exigencies might require, 
could not but share, to a certain extent, this spirit 
of unrest and anxious questioning. 



CHAPTER IX. 



General Conference of 1869 — Lay Delegation — Secrecy — 
Union Biblical Seminary — African Mission — Ohio 
District — Closing Address — Removal to Dayton, Ohio 
— In 1870 Visits Pacific Coast — Traveling by Stage — 
Colorado Mission — Meeting of the Board of Missions in 
Baltimore — General Conference of 1873 — Lay Delega- 
tion — Special Law — Under a Cloud — West Mississippi 
District — Closing Address — Made Doctor of Divinity 
— In 1876 Visits Pacific Coast — General Conference of 
1877 — Old Questions — Sermon on Character of Bishop 
Edwards — East District — Sickness — Railroad Accident 
— Churchville Church — Article on Lay Delegation — 
Seminary Discourses. 

The fifteenth. General Conference assembled at 
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1869. Since 1817 
all of the General Conferences had been held 
in Ohio with the exception of that of 1865, which 
was held in Iowa. The increase in members 
since the last General Conference was 18,811, the 
total membership being 108,122. The delegates 
of the General Conference came together with 
greater differences of views on church questions, 
and with greater independence of spirit than had 
characterized the delegates of any preceding 
General Conference. Bishops Glossbrenner, Ed- 
203 



204 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



wards, "Weaver, Markwood, and Shuck were all 
present. 

The subject of lay delegation came up for a 
large share of attention. The bishops appointed 
a special committee on this subject, who reported 
a change of constitution making lay delegation 
possible, to be submitted to a vote of the member- 
ship of the Church under such regulations as the 
bishops might adopt. The report of the commit- 
tee was rejected. Thirty-two of the delegates, 
however, were disposed to favor it. Bishop 
Glossbrenner made an ineffectual effort to secure 
a reconsideration with a view to a different result. 

The secrecy question in one form or another 
occupied more than three full days of the session. 
A majority report forbidding all connection with 
secret societies was adopted by seventy-two votes 
in the affirmative against twenty-five in the 
negative. Those voting in the negative were in 
favor of an advisory rule. Bishop Glossbrenner 
voted in the affirmative. He spoke in favor of a 
motion to submit an amendment to the constitu- 
tion, touching the article on secret combinations. 
While the constitution remained as it was, he felt 
compelled to vote in favor of a universal prohibi- 
tory rule. 

An important act of the General Conference 
was the adoption of measures that led to the 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



205 



establishing of a theological seminary. When 
the educational work of the Church had its 
beginning, everyone disavowed the idea of intend- 
ing to secure an educated ministry. Up to 1865 
this continued to be the prevalent sentiment. In 
the General Conference of 1865, it was proposed 
to bury out of sight the word u preacher-factory," 
and an effort was made to attach theological 
departments to some of the colleges. This, how- 
ever, was not successful. The bishops in their 
address at the present session commended the 
subject of theological education to the attention 
of the conference. A committee reported a plan 
similar to that urged in 1865, but the conference 
would be satisfied with nothing less than an 
independent institution, and the requisite meas- 
ures to that end were adopted. 

An important point in the measures of the 
session was the action in regard to the African 
mission. The question as to the abandonment 
of the mission was submitted by the Board of 
Missions. The general sentiment was that the 
mission should be better manned and supported 
or else be abandoned. This was Bishop Gloss- 
brenner's sentiment. Shortly after the mission 
was founded, he had deplored in a published arti- 
cle, the difficulty in obtaining volunteers for the 
mission. The conference voted to keep the door 



206 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



open; and afterward, Bishop Glossbrenner was 
one of the number that chose Rev. J. Gomer and 
wife as missionaries, under whose labor the Afri- 
can work has had so large a degree of success. 

Bishops Glossbrenner, Edwards, and Weaver 
were re-elected bishops. Rev. J. Dickson, of 
Pennsylvania Conference, was elected to take the 
place of Bishop Markwood, whose afflictions dis- 
qualified him for further service. The bishops 
were to visit by turns the Pacific conferences. 
Bishop Glossbrenner was assigned to the Ohio 
district, consisting of Scioto, Sandusky, Auglaize, 
Miami, Ohio German, North Ohio, Western 
Reserve, and Canada conferences. He was re- 
elected president of the missionary society. 

Bishop Glossbrenner at the close of the session 
made the following remarks: 

I go away from this General Conference to commence 
my seventh term as one of the superintendents of the 
Church. Although in your wisdom you have deter- 
mined that I should occupy a different field of labor 
from that which I have been occupying for the last 
sixteen years, I go willingly, I go cheerfully. It would 
not do very well for us, as superintendents of this 
Church, who from year to year instruct our brethren 
to take their fields as cheerfully as possible, to mur- 
mur at the appointment that we may receive at 
your hands. ... I trust that the members of the 
East district will receive the dear brother (Bishop Wea- 
ver) that comes after me with the same Christian charity 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



207 



and forbearance that you have always exercised towards 
me. You have one to preside over you who will take a 
deep interest in all of your interests. . . . During 
this session you have elected a new superintendent, one 
who has never labored with us in this department of the 
work. I rejoice to be able to say that you have elected a 
tried man. . . . Although I have been in this position 
for twenty-four years, I am glad to be able to say to-day, 
that from the 'first down to this time there has never 
been anything between us — your superintendents — to 
cause an unpleasant feeling. 

My brethren, let me say to you all as ministers of the 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ, go out into the 
world walking by the same rule, minding the same 
thing, contending for the faith once delivered to the 
saints. Above all things labor to maintain in this 
Church, the pure and unadulterated principles of the 
gospel of our L/Ord Jesus Christ; and never, never fail 
to insist upon this one great truth, that men must seek, 
must find a personal and experimental interest in the 
atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In the fall of 1869 Bishop Glossbrenner at- 
tended his conferences on the Ohio district. In 
December, 1869, he with Mrs. Glossbrenner took 
up his residence at Dayton, Ohio, occupying 
rooms and taking boarding with the family of 
Rev. W. H. Lanthern. Rev. D. K Flickinger 
boarded at the same place. The years spent by 
Bishop Glossbrenner in Dayton were among the 
most pleasant in his life. He gave himself to 
the work of his district with great zeal and faith- 



208 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



fulness. He connected himself closely with the 
work of the local church in Dayton, to which he 
and Mrs. Glossbrenner transferred their member- 
ship. He was, when at home, an attendant of 
the prayer and official meetings. He was always 
ready to preach when called upon. He served 
on the executive committee of the missionary 
board. Throughout the entire term his labors 
were given closely to the Ohio district. In 
August 1871 he delivered an extended address 
at what was intended to be the dedication of 
the new building of Otterbein University. In 
consequence of the incomplete state of the build- 
ing, the formal dedication did not take place till 
the following May, at which time Bishop Gloss- 
brenner delivered a short address. 

In fulfillment of his duty assigned by the 
General Conference, he visited in the spring of 
1870 the conferences of the Pacific coast. Bishop 
"Weaver had visited these conferences in 1869. 
Bishop Glossbrenner at a much earlier period had 
arranged to make a visit to the Pacific confer- 
ences, but the great difficulties in the way had 
prevented his carrying out his purpose. It was 
not till 1869 that the great trans-continental rail- 
way was completed. 

On leaving home Bishop Glossbrenner, Mrs. 
Glossbrenner accompanying him, first went to 



LIFE 0* GLOSSBBENNE-tw 



209 



Canada to preside over Canada Conference, which 
met at Xew Dundee, Ontario, April 14, 1870. 
After the session he remained a week visiting 
different fields of labor and preaching on an 
average once per day. He then went to Buffalo,. 
New York, whence Mrs. Glossbrenner departed 
for Virginia, and he for Shueyville, Iowa, where 
he had an appointment to dedicate a church. He 
preached a magnificent sermon from one of his 
favorite texts — " Upon this rock I will build my 
church." The presence of a number of families 
from the bounds of Virginia Conference at 
Shueyville, was doubtless the reason for his being 
requested to dedicate the church. He visited 
Western, and preached in the chapel of Western 
College. 

On the 2d of May he took the train for Sacra- 
mento, California. He gave, in a series of twelve 
letters in the Religious Telescope, an account of 
what he witnessed from the time of his leaving 
home till the time of his return. The first whole 
night on the cars, having an entire seat to himself, 
and "not having as much extended humanity as 
Bishop Weaver,'' he did not take a Pullman 
sleeper, and saved his four dollars for " harder 
times." In referring to the scenery of the Sierra 
Nevada mountains he said: " I am in the midst 
of mountains covered with majestic pines. I am 

14 



21<> 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



reminded of the scenery of the Virginia moun- 
tains, which, so beautiful and grand, attracted my 
attention and filled me with delight, as in my 
youthful days I crossed and re-crossed them as an 
itinerant minister. Some of the happiest and 
perhaps most successful years of my ministry 
were spent among the mountains and hills of 
Virginia. In looking back to those days, and 
thinking of her majestic mountains, her fruitful 
hills and valleys, her beautiful rivers, and her 
people proverbial for their hospitality, I feel like 
exclaiming, ' Virginia, with all thy faults I love 
thee still.' " 

He reached Sacramento on May 7th after a 
continuous journey of five days. He was met 
by friends and conveyed to Alexander Valley 
where, on May 12th, California Conference con- 
vened. The condition of the conference was not 
one of thrift. There had been great difficulties 
to surmount and there were few unreserved 
itinerants. Few of the ministers had taken up 
their missionary collections, and collections for 
the support of the bishop had been entirely 
neglected. It was expected that the Pacific con- 
ferences would at least meet the expenses of their 
superintendent. Bishop Glossbrenner had re- 
fused in the cases of other mission conferences 
to allow missionary funds to be drawn on for his 



LIFE OF (jrLOSSBRENNER. 



211 



support, and in this case after some "scolding" 
the brethren were convinced that they were fully 
able to do what was expected of them, and 
responded to that extent. Years- afterward the 
brethren of California Conference wrote, " Bishop 
Glossbrenner's paternal tenderness and deep piety 
are referred to with pleasure and profit." 

He next proceeded by stage to the place of 
holding Oregon Conference, traveling a distance 
of six hundred miles, largely over a wild, moun- 
tainous country. The undertaking was quite 
formidable, yet he had cause for gratitude. Al- 
luding to a peril that befell Bishop Weaver in 
traveling over the same route, he said: " Bishop 
Weaver was fortunate that he did not go over the 
embankment, when one of his mules got over. I 
feel that I am more fortunate, for none of our 
mules got over the bank at all, and I did not 
have the unpleasantness of a big scare." Oregon 
Conference convened at Philomath, Oregon, May 
26th. Sermons were preached every day at eleven 
A. M. and at seven and a half P. M. throughout 
the five days, including the Sabbath, of the ses- 
sion. The Bishop was greatly delighted with the 
wonderful scenery about Philomath. At this 
time, however, neither the college there located, 
nor the conference was in a thriving condition. 

He next proceeded to the place of holding 



212 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNEll. 



Cascade Conference, journeying a considerable 
part of the way by boat on the Willamette and 
Columbia rivers. He made stops at Salem and 
Portland, at both of which places he preached. 
He also attended a camp-meeting held about 
sixteen miles from Portland. After continuously 
viewing the marvelous scenery on the Columbia 
River, he felt himself almost " sated with magni- 
ficence." At Dallas City he laid aside his 
accustomed reserve and registered himself Bishop 
of the United Brethren in Christ, and in return 
received the best accommodations and attentions 
that his hotel could afford. In all his journeys 
on the Pacific Coast he received the most respect- 
ful treatment and the largest favors, material and 
otherwise, that any minister of the gospel could 
desire. Such favors were not given simply to the 
dignitaries of the church, but to all ministers. He 
greatly appreciated the cordiality with which he 
was received by the representatives of other 
churches, pastors, college presidents, and others. 
Even civil officers and business men seemed to 
feel that in a visitant from the " States" they had 
a comrade. 

Cascade Conference met on the camp-ground 
at Mill Creek, Washington Territory, June 16th. 
Bishop Glossbrenner preached every day of the 
session. The secretary of the conference wrote: 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



213 



u We will long remember his kindness and coun- 
sel, and earnestly pray that the Lord will preserve 
his health and strength for many years to come, 
so that he may be permitted to visit us once more 
in these ends of the earth." 

He was now ready to begin his homeward 
trip. He journeyed five hundred miles by stage 
to Kelton on the Pacific railway. On this jour- 
ney a half-fare permit saved him thirty-seven and 
a half dollars. On his return course he stopped 
to visit the infant mission in Colorado. One 
missionary, Rev. St. Clair Ross, with two local 
ministers, constituted the ministerial force. The 
prospect, however, was hopeful. On Sabbath 
Bishop Glossbrenner preached to a respectable 
congregation under a large cotton- wood tree on 
the bank of the South Platte River. He halted 
again in Illinois, where he dedicated two churches. 
He then proceeded to his home in Dayton, Ohio. 

We cannot pass by a pleasant trip enjoyed by 
Bishop and Mrs. Glossbrenner along with a num- 
ber of friends. In August, 1872, the Board of 
Missions met in Baltimore, Maryland. Bishop 
Glossbrenner planned the trip to Baltimore, so 
as to give to the party a pleasant sojourn in the 
" hill country of Maryland." The party, besides 
Bishop and Mrs. Glossbrenner, included Dr. and 
Mrs. Berger, Rev. W. II. Lanthe rn and wife, 



2U 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Mrs. T. K Sowers, Rev. D. C. Kiimier, and 
others. They went by the picturesque Baltimore 
and Ohio route. On their way they halted at 
Harper's Ferry and devoted a day to climbing 
the hills, and contemplating the grandeur of that 
romantic spot, and communing with the history 
of the tragic events there enacted. 

Thence the party proceeded to Keedysville, 
Maryland. Here Bishop Glossbrenner had 
arranged to have the members of the company 
distributed to friends whose known hospitality he 
had enjoyed in years agone. The battle fields of 
Antietam and South Mountain added to the 
strange impressiveness of that region in which 
valley, mountain, streams, and sky enter into such 
surprising combinations. On the first Sabbath 
Bishop Glossbrenner preached at Keedysville, 
Mr. Lanthern at Boonsboro, and Dr. Berger at 
Rohrersville. Revs. J. W. Hott and W. 0. 
Grimm, the ministers in charge of these points, 
contributed much to the enjoyment of their 
guests. The second Sabbath, with some of the 
intervening time was spent in and about Freder- 
ick City. On Sabbath Bishop Glossbrenner 
preached at Rocky Springs, Mr. Lanthern and 
Mr. Kumler at Georgetown, and Dr. Berger at 
Baker Valley. In "Washington County, the 
" Gibralter of the United Brethren Church," and 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



215 



Frederick County where the first two of the 
regular annual conferences were held, the com- 
pany were richly regaled with history from the 
heroic days of the Church. Bishop Glossbrenner 
had his own special reasons for gladness of heart, 
as he journeyed over territory, every part of 
which suggested the events of his first years in 
the ministry. He had planned all of the details 
of the trip with that forethought and exactness 
characteristic of all his undertakings. The meet- 
ing of the missionary board in Baltimore passed 
off pleasantly. One of the features was the discus- 
sion of a number of topics previously assigned. 
After the session, Bishop and Mrs. Glossbrenner 
spent some time in Virginia, 

The sixteenth General Conference assembled 
at Dayton, Ohio, May 15, 1873. Immediately 
upon the opening of the session Bishop Gloss- 
brenner preached the opening sermon, taking as 
his text, u What was it that ye disputed among 
yourselves by the way?" — Mark 9:33. The 
sermon was able and apposite, and delivered in 
the Bishop's well-known earnest and effective 
manner. Bishop Edwards had preached the 
opening sermon of the preceding General Con- 
ference, but the plan of an opening sermon has 
not been suffered to become a custom. The 
report of the bishops showed a membership of 



216 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER 



125,658, an increase for the quadrennium of 
17,357. Bishop Glossbrenner took a larger part 
in the proceedings of the conference than he had 
taken in those of other conferences of the recent 
past. 

Lay delegation received very favorable consider- 
ation, a proposition to submit to the membership 
of the Church an amendment to the constitution 
authorizing lay delegation, being adopted by a 
majority of ninety to twelve. The details of 
taking the vote were left to the . decision of the 
bishops. But neither the conference, nor as it 
afterward proved, the bishops could agree on the 
method to be followed. 

The secrecy question came in for a large meas- 
ure of attention. Bishop Glossbrenner voted 
against the resolution by which it was proposed 
that in "cases of special law," names of members 
might be erased without the consent of the class. 
The resolution, however, prevailed. He voted 
along with the great majority of the conference 
that a motion to limit the prohibitory character 
of the rule on secret societies to Freemasonry 
could not be entertained in view of the language 
of the constitution. 

It may as well be frankly stated that through- 
out the session Bishop Glossbrenner rested under 
the disfavor of the majority of the delegates. It 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



217 



was their opinion that he had not been faithful 
up to the measure of his authority and ability in 
enforcing the secrecy law. This opinion was due 
in part to the fact that the failure to carry out 
the law belonged especially to the East district 
where he had been continuously for four terms the 
presiding bishop. The law enacted in 1869, that 
thereafter no bishop should remain on the same 
district longer than one term, had special reference 
to his case. The fact that in the Ohio district, 
over which he had presided during the preceding 
quadrennium, the law was not generally carried 
out, did not cause the majority in the conference 
to think better of his administration. It re- 
mained yet to appear that under the administra- 
tion of any and all of the bishops, no difference 
how strenuous they might be, the change of 
sentiment and practice would yet go forward. If 
it were the purpose to write a defensive life of 
Bishop Glossbrenner, it might be shown, no 
matter what his individual sentiments might be, 
that no bishop of the United Brethren Church 
has had a clearer conception than Bishop Grloss- 
brenner, of what the constitution and laws of the 
Church require, or has been more careful and 
uniform on every variety of subject in the proper 
enforcement of the same, than he. He was 
churchly in his sentiments. He could vote for 



218 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



changes in the constitution and in the laws, hut 
while they remained unchanged he was not the 
one to trample upon them. 

It was the purpose of a number of the dele= 
gates to do what they could to prevent his re- 
election as bishop. Some were not unwilling 
that he should be re-elected, but they desired 
that he should be chosen by the smallest yote 
possible. When the yote was taken he received 
eleyen more yotes than the necessary number to 
elect; Bishop Edwards who received the highest 
number of yotes, receiving thirty more than the 
required number. All of the bishops were re- 
elected — Glossbrenner, Edwards, Weaver, and 
Dickson. Bishop Edwards was elected president 
of the Board of Missions in the place of Bishop 
Glossbrenner, who had been president of the 
board from the organization of the society. 
Bishop Glossbrenner was assigned to the West 
Mississippi district. This appointment, especially 
in view of the hardships involved to a man of his 
years, he now being sixty-one years of age, was 
another indication of the current of feeling in the 
conference. He felt that in this act it was the 
purpose of some at least to force him to resign. 
The knowledge that he was held in suspicion and 
that some of his best friends of other years were 
disposed to put a stigma on his character and 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



219 



work, could not fail to cause excruciating pain to 
a nature as highly sensitive as his. One whole 
night in the first part of the session he spent in 
prayer and anguish before God. He obtained 
victory and composure in his own soul, through 
which he was sustained in all the experiences 
that followed. 

At the close of the session, after some remarks 
by Bishop Weaver, Bishop Glossbrenner spoke 
as follows : 

I have not been disappointed at all in the report of the 
stationing committee. It is just such as I have been 
expecting for the last two or three days, and is snch a 
report as I could not help expecting, from circumstances 
that I will not now name. As old as I am, sir, after 
forty-two years in the itinerancy of this church, without 
the loss of a year, I feel that if I am not sufficiently 
strong in some respects, I am sufficiently strong in heart 
to go forward and do whatever this church requires me 
to do. It ma}- have been expected by some that I would 
resign. I don't resign. I go to my district to do as best 
I can. Glossbrenner is not constitutionally made as 
some other men are, and he cannot re-make himself. 
And here permit me to say that during this General 
Conference, some things have occurred that pained me 
deeply, wounded me deeply, but I lay all these things 
aside. And, nry dear brethren in Christ, and fellow- 
laborers in the gospel of the Son of God, whatever you 
may imagine, my motives, in the sight of Him who sees 
your hearts and my heart, have been pure. Whatever 
my administration has been in this church for the last 



220 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



forty-two years, I am willing that it should be inspected 
at any time by any department in this church. I think 
that whenever there are serious complaints against the 
actions or course of one of the bishops of the Church, 
the}' should be brought to the General Conference and 
then let the individual meet them. 

A great mam* years ago I was on the district to which 
you have now assigned me. The second conference that 
was held in Iowa I had the pleasure of holding. I have 
visited that district of country since then, and I have no 
doubt that if the providence of God permits me to go to 
the West Mississippi district, I shall find there brethren 
good and true. I believe it in my heart, and I am not 
afraid to trust the brethren there, and I hope that they 
are not afraid to trust me. . . And now, brethren, 
let us all go away from this General Conference deter- 
mined that in the strength of our Master we will main- 
tain the bonds of fellowship in the bonds of peace. . . 
This church has had my youthful days, it has had my 
riper 3-ears, and, God willing, it shall have the years of 
in}- old age. Whether I live long or die soon, I hope to 
die at my post. 

In 1873 Bishop Glossbrenner was honored with 
the degree of Doctor of Divinity, if the receiving 
of such a degree should be spoken of as adding 
lion or to one of his recognized standing. In 
connection with a published announcement of 
the conferring of the degree, bestowed by Otter- 
bein University and Lebanon Valley College at 
the same time, the following statement appeared: 
" The degree could not have been more worthily 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



221 



bestowed. The Bishop has been for a long series 
of years one of the most interesting expounders 
of God's word, in which he displays remarkable 
soundness and skill." Bishop Edwards, himself 
no mean theologian, said, "I regard Bishop 
Glossbrenner the best theologian in the United 
Brethren Church." Bishop Edwards was sur- 
prised that Bishop Glossbrenner was sent to the 
West Mississippi district at the preceding session 
of the General Conference, but said he, " Of all 
us bishops, he is the man for the field. He can 
give the people there more sound theology than 
all of the rest of us together, and that is what 
they need above all things else." He did not 
usually present his theology as theology, but it 
was not the worse theology for that. But what- 
ever his deserts might be, he felt compelled to 
decline the title conferred. In his letter declining 
the title, he said: "Your action in thus conferring 
so high an honor on one so unworthy as myself 
will be held in grateful remembrance. Yet for 
reasons perfectly satisfactory to myself, if not to 
many of my friends in and out of the Church, I 
most respectfully decline the proffered title." He 
felt that the title would not tit him. It certainly 
did not indicate his real distinction. Later, when 
the title was bestowed anew, he neither declined 
nor accepted, leaving it with his friends to use 
the title or not 



222 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



His conferences for the quadrennium were 
Iowa, Minnesota, East Des Moines, West Des 
Moines, Fox River, Wisconsin, Rock River, 
Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Osage, and Missouri. 
He did not move to his district, but returned to 
his home in Virginia. He remained considerable 
periods on his district, however, Mrs. Glossbren- 
ner some of the time being with him. 

In 1876 he visited the Pacific conferences, and 
in returning held Colorado Conference. His 
route in making this visit was almost identical 
with that followed in 1870. California Confer- 
ence was held at Rohnersville, Humboldt County, 
California, at the extreme western point of the 
United States. To reach the place a steamboat 
voyage from San Francisco was necessary. The 
amount of staging necessary to reach Oregon 
Conference had been lessened by the extension of 
railroads. Just before reaching the place where 
Oregon Conference was to convene, while being 
carried in a private conveyance, he met with a 
sad mishap. A single-tree broke and the horses 
becoming frightened were about to run away. 
He jumped out of the carriage, lighting in a 
mire. He sunk so deep as to almost despair of 
getting out. When he succeeded in extricating 
himself he was minus a shoe which he never re- 
covered. He was taken to his destination feeling 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



223 



and looking " very little like a bishop." "Walla 
Walla Conference met in connection with a 
grove meeting about six miles from Walla Walla. 
The Conference had been dissolved the year 
before by the Board of Missions and at this time 
was restored by the order of the Board of Mis- 
sions. Bishop Glossbrenner took a strict course 
in organizing the conference anew, and it began 
its second period as a conference with largely 
improved prospects. 

Colorado Conference was held at Long Moun- 
tain. This place was near the St. Yrain River, 
just at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The 
congregation on Sabbath was so large that it was 
necessary to repair to a grove. Here the wagons 
and buggies filled with people were formed into a 
circle. A large number of listeners occupied the 
enclosed space. The Bishop preached from a 
wagon brought to a convenient place. He spoke 
with unusual freedom and power. W 7 hile in 
Colorado he received his first intelligence of 
the death of Bishop Edwards. In concluding a 
letter to Mrs. Glossbrenner he wrote, " Just this 
moment I received the sad intelligence of the 
death of my co-laborer, Bishop Edwards. I can- 
not help but weep. Thus one after another falls, 
but the Master will raise up others to take our 
place. The Lord bless and comfort his family." 



221 



LIFE OF GLOSSBKENNER. 



On this trip Bishop Glossbrennerwas successful 
in collecting a number of interesting specimens. 
He had acquired a very creditable amount of 
exact knowledge in the natural sciences, which 
contributed largely to his skill and pleasure in 
making collections. 

After his return he first visited the work in 
Dakota Territory. While here, he with others 
engaged in an exciting antelope chase, which 
proved more tiring than successful. He enjoyed, 
though, the excitement. In July he began his 
last round of conferences for the term, Missouri 
Conference being the first held. Rock River 
was the twelfth and last conference held on his 
own district. In consequence of the death of 
Bishop Edwards, the superintendent of the East 
district, he held the Tennessee and East German 
conferences, and assisted Bishop Dickson in 
presiding over Virginia and Pennsylvania confer- 
ences. 

In holding the last session of some of his 
conferences on the West Mississippi district, he 
gave a formal farewell to the ministers and 
friends. These occasions were not occasions of 
prevailing sadness, but occasions in which the 
anticipation of meeting again about the eternal 
throne was the predominant thought. In view 
of the one term rule he could have little expecta- 



LIFE OP GLOSSBRENNER. 



225 



tion of returning to the district. He had greatly 
endeared himself to the brethren in some of the 
western conferences, by his efforts to secure aid 
for them in their distress and peril occasioned by 
loss of crops. In closing his last annual report 
he used the following language: "Some of you 
I expect to see at the approaching General Con- 
ference, but the most of you I do not expect to 
see again till we meet with the general assembly 
and church of the first born, in our Father's 
house above. Stand firm; endure hardness as 
good soldiers of Christ. 4 Only let your conversa- 
tion be as it becometh the gospel of Christ; that 
whether I come and see you or else be absent, I 
may hear of your affairs that ye stand fast in one 
spirit, with one mind striving together for the 
faith of the gospel.' " 

The General Conference convened at West" 
field, Illinois, May 10, 1877. The membership 
of the Church was now 144,881, a gain for the 
preceding term of 19,223. At this session the 
bishops were not called on to vote on the ques- 
tions on which there was a division of sentiment. 
The old questions were again the prominent ones. 
The secrecy law was made as nearly self- executing 
as it was possible to make a law. While Bishop 
Glossbrenner consented to the law, he earnestly 
desired that it should be somewhat amended. A 

15 



226 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



plan for a modified pro rata representation failed, 
by a single vote, of adoption. Lay delegation 
was earnestly discussed, but all propositions 
looking in the direction of lay representation in 
the General Conference were rejected. Action 
was taken, however, opening the way for lay 
delegation in the annual conferences. This was 
an important step. 

Bishop Glossbrenner opposed sending represen- 
tatives to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference 
to convene at London. He had previously pub- 
lished an article, condemning the perversion of 
history by which some sought to make the 
United Brethren Church a branch of Methodism. 
The General Conference took action, resulting in 
the sending of representatives, though not as 
regular delegates. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was re-elected bishop by 
a truly complimentary vote. Bishops Weaver 
and Dickson were also re-elected. To fill the 
place of Bishop Edwards, deceased, and to supply 
the Pacific Coast with a resident bishop, Rev. M. 
Wright, of White River Conference, and Rev. N. 
Castle, of St. Joseph Conference, were made 
bishops. Bishop Glossbrenner was sent to the 
East district. He was elected president of the 
Board of Missions.* On the first Sabbath of the 
session he preached an able and impressive ser- 
mon in memory of Bishop Edwards. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



227 



He went forth from this session of the General 
Conference to enter upon his ninth term as 
hishop A writer present at the session wrote of 
him: " Age sits gracefully upon him, and he 
maintains his mental and physical powers with- 
out abatement." Yet he himself was conscious 
that his strength for service was not up to the 
mark of other years. The East district com- 
prised the Allegheny, Eastern, Pennsylvania, 
East Pennsylvania, Virginia, Parkersburg, Erie, 
Muskingum, and Tennessee conferences. During 
the quadrennium he continued to reside at 
Churchville, Virginia. The bishop's parsonage 
at Baltimore was rented, the proceeds going to 
pay a debt on the property. Bishop Glossbren- 
ner met all of his conferences throughout the 
quadrennium with the exception of Allegheny, 
Pennsylvania, East Pennsylvania, Virginia, and 
Eastern in 1880, which Bishop Dickson presided 
over in his stead. His failure to meet his con- 
ferences was due to sickness. 

On his way to Allegheny Conference, which 
was to convene at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 
February 18, 1880, he stopped at Chambersburg 
where he had consented to spend a Sabbath, and 
to preach morning and evening. He preached a 
very impressive sermon in the morning. Toward 
the close of the sermon his strength perceptibly 



228 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



failed, but his physical exhaustion and apparent 
illness only added force to the words with which 
he closed, which were as follows: " The few days 
I may yet have to live let me spend in the 
church, laboring for the church, and when 
I die, let me be buried by the church, and 
at the resurrection let me come up with the 
church, and with the church be forever with the 
Lord." He was too ill to preach at night, and 
rapidly became worse till the most serious appre- 
hensions were excited. His wife, coming to be 
present with him, failed to reach Hagerstown for 
the regular train and was tendered a special train 
to Chambersbur^. A remarkable thing manifest 
in this sickness, as also in later seasons of sick- 
ness, was the overawing influence of the Bishop's 
presence upon his physicians and others who 
came near him in ministering to him. It was the 
mysterious power arising from gentleness, self- 
control, and suffering. He received the best care 
that skilled physicians and kind friends could 
render, and after the lapse of several weeks was 
sufficiently recovered to return home. The form 
of his disease was given as typhoid pneumonia. 
Before and after this illness he was subjected to 
severe attacks due, as was thought, to torpidity 
of the liver and indigestion, but the real nature of 
which was not known till near the time of his death. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER,. 



229 



In 1879, when Bishop Glossbrenner was passing 
through Chambersburg on his way to Virginia 
Conference, the car in which he was riding sud- 
denly left the track, fell over an embankment, and 
turned upon its side. He was sitting, in company 
with Rev. M. Bulger, near the stove, and as a 
result of the accident was somewhat burned and 
otherwise injured. He was kiudly cared for at 
the home of Rev. A. H. Rice, and was soon able 
to resume his journey. As a result of the accident 
his clothes were considerably injured. The rail- 
way authorities directed him to send for a 
merchant tailor and have his injured suit replaced 
by an entirely new one at the company's expense. 
When his measure was being taken, he noticed 
that the tailor was taking measurements for his 
vest. He said, " My vest was not injured. I can 
only receive in the place of what was actually 
spoiled." With all of his traveling by public 
conveyance, it is somewhat remarkable that with 
the exception here given, he was spared all 
serious accident. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's regard for the laws 
which as bishop he was to administer, is indica- 
ted by a single example. At the session of the 
Muskingum Conference immediately after the 
drastic measures of the General Conference of 
1877, a motion was made nullifying the law 



230 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



of the Church respecting secret societies. 
Bishop Glossbrenner refused to entertain the 
motion, and being overruled, left the chair. 
Though the motion was put and carried, he 
insisted that it should not be recorded as a part 
of the proceedings of the conference. 

A consummation in which he took great satis- 
faction was the completion and dedication in 1878 
of a handsome, commodious, and well-furnished 
church to take the place of the little antiquated 
United Brethren Church at his home at Church- 
ville. To this enterprise he contributed personally 
over five hundred dollars, and aided otherwise by 
his influence and counsels. 

In March, 1881, he published a masterly article 
in the Religious Telescope on lay representation. 
The article occupied seven full columns and was 
a comprehensive and thorough presentation of 
the argument in favor of lay representation. No 
article more scholarly or exhibiting more of per- 
sonal conviction was ever given by him to the 
press. In the first part of the article he adduced 
scripture examples, such as the choosing of an 
apostle to take the place of Judas, the choosing 
of the seven deacons, and the example of the 
apostolic conference. In the second part he con- 
sidered the subject in the light of the history of 
the Christian church. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



281 



In May, 1881, Bishop Glossbrenner, at the 
request of Dr. L. Davis, preached the baccalau- 
reate sermon before the students of Union 
Biblical Seminary, preaching an excellent sermon 
on the call, qualifications, and rewards of the gos- 
pel minister. On another commencement occasion 
of the Seminary, he preached the annual sermon 
on Sabbath evening. At yet another time he 
delivered the diplomas to the graduating class of 
the Seminary, his presentation words to each 
member of the class, and his address finally to all, 
being made up almost wholly of passages from 
the Scriptures, happily selected and charmingly 
and impressively given. Never did the words of 
scripture appear more fitting, or the Bishop's skill 
in quotation appear to better advantage. 



CHAPTER X. 

General Conference of 1881 — Pro Rata Representation — 
Ohio District — First Round — Taken Sick— Dedication 
at Dayton — Second and Third Rounds — Missionary 
Sermon — Lebanon Valley Baccalaureate — Last Round 
— Sickness — Opposition at North Ohio — Faithfulness 
as Bishop — Change in Sentiments — Golden Wedding 
— His Family — Congratulations — Death of Mother 
Shuey — Sickness and Death of Mrs. Glossbrenner — 
Bereaved but Still Battling. 

The eighteenth General Conference convened 
at Lisbon, Iowa, May 12, 1881. Bishop Gloss- 
brenner read an extended address from the board 
of bishops. The membership reported was 159,- 
367, an increase during the quadrennium of 
14,486. The increase was by no means what it 
should have been. Distracting differences in the 
Church on polity and discipline account in part 
for the slender gains, but other causes were 
equally potent. The majority in the conference 
were still in favor of strenuous anti-secrecy legis- 
lation, but the conference was so equally divided 
and the opposition was so firm, that both sides 
were contented to leave the question where they 
found it. Those who sought a modification of 
the law of the Church, however, became en- 

232 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



233 



couraged and elated, through various acts of the 
conference bearing: more or less directlv on the 
law on secrecy. 

Pro rata representation in the General Confer- 
ence was favorably acted upon; so that the 
annual conferences were allowed from two to 
four delegates each according to numbers. Since 
1841 each conference, whether large or small, had 
had three delegates. The conference of 1841 was 
constituted on the pro rata basis. The conference 
of 1837 was made up of two delegates from each 
annual conference. Before that time conferences 
were divided into sub-districts, each of which 
elected two delegates. 

Throughout the session Bishop Glossbrenner 
presided in his turn. He made no extended, 
speeches, but his rulings while in the chair, and 
his suggestions when not in the chair, were clear 
and calculated to facilitate the work of the con- 
ference. The first Sabbath he preached in his 
inimitable way from Isaiah 32 : 20 — " Blessed are 
ye that sow beside all waters.'' After the services 
Bishop "Weaver said to him, " I consider that the 
master sermon of your life." The second Sabbath 
he preached at Toledo, Iowa. He was re-elected 
bishop by a large vote, and placed on the Ohio 
district. His colleagues were Bishops "Weaver, 
Dickson, and Castle of the old board, and E. B. 



234 



LIFE OF QL OS SB REN NER. 



Kephart, of Iowa Conference, who for thirteen 
years had ably served as the president of Western 
College. During the quadrenniuni Bishop Gloss- 
brenner continued to reside at his old home at 
Church ville, Virginia. 

After presiding two terms over other districts, 
it was a great pleasure to him to return to the 
Ohio district. The district included Miami, 
Auglaize, North Ohio, Sandusky, Central Ohio, 
Ohio German, Scioto, Western Reserve, Ontario, 
and Kentucky conferences. With a single excep- 
tion hereafter referred to, his welcome to the 
district was most cordial. Auglaize Conference 
at its first session after the General Conference, 
declared as follows: "We as a conference wel- 
come our venerable bishop, J. J. Glossbrenner, to 
our midst and are satisfied with the able and 
impartial manner in which he has presided over 
us." Sandusky Conference expressed itself as 
follows: "Resolved, That we hail with exquisite 
delight the return of J. J. Glossbrenner as the 
presiding bishop over this district." He attended 
all of his conferences in the fall of 1881, with the 
exception of the Western Reserve and the Scioto. 
After presiding a half day at the former he was 
taken sick and was obliged to give up his work 
and return to his home. Dr. L. Davis presided 
for him at Scioto Conference. After a sickness 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



235 



of two or three months he was again able to re- 
sume preaching. He assisted Bishop Dickson in 
presiding at the ensuing session of Virginia Con- 
ference, and at the joint session of Pennsylvania 
and East Pennsylvania conferences. Pennsyl- 
vania and East Pennsylvania conferences, which 
had been united by the General Conference, met 
this year in Harrisburg in joint session. The con- 
ference sermon was preached by Bishop Gloss- 
brenner on Wednesday evening, at the opening 
of the session. On Sabbath morning he preached 
in Zion Lutheran Church. 

April 30, 1882, he dedicated Summit Street 
United Brethren Church at Dayton, Ohio. He 
preached characteristically from Matthew 16:18. 
One who had heard him often in the years gone 
by, wrote : u He brought from the treasury 
things new and old. He touched all points 
within good range of his theme. The universal 
verdict was that a burning message had indeed 
come from God. His voice was clear and musical 
as when we first heard him a quarter of a cen- 
tury ago. For nearly an hour and a half the vast 
audience waited upon his words with the most 
profound interest and attention. His entire dis- 
course was characterized with strength and 
pathos, and telling effect. . . . He seemed to 
be inspired with new vigor. It is doubtful if he 



286 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



has preached so grandly for years. Oh ! what a 
man to preach Jesus and his gospel, Bishop Gloss- 
brenner is." This dedication occurred on the 
Sabbath of the commencement week of Union 
Biblical Seminary. The following Wednesday 
after an address by Dr. H. A. Thompson, the 
seminary building was, by Bishop Glossbrenner, 
formally dedicated to God. 

This year Bishop Glossbrenner attended Onta- 
rio Conference and all of his Ohio conferences. 
On coming to Dayton to be present at the session 
of Miami Conference, he arrived in time to be 
present at the funeral of ex-Bishop Henry 
Kumler, jr. They had served together in the 
bishop's office. They had not always seen alike 
or been able to act in accord, but they knew how 
to esteem each other and be friends. Bishop 
Glossbrenner made some affecting remarks. He 
closed with the words, " Goodbye, Uncle Henry, 
we shall meet again in the morning." At the 
session of Miami Conference he was quite feeble. 
At his request Dr. L. Davis preached the. confer- 
ence sermon on Sabbath morning, preaching a 
very appropriate and impressive sermon. 

In December he left his home in Virginia to 
fill engagements in preaching and dedicating 
churches in Michigan and Ohio. After reaching 
the place of his first appointment, he became so 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



237 



indisposed that lie was compelled to abandon all 
of his engagements. He first came to Dayton, 
Ohio, from which place he was accompanied by 
Rev. J. K. Billheimer as he proceeded to his 
home. In 1883 he attended all of his Ohio 
conferences along with Ontario Conference. 

In May, 1884, he attended the session of the 
Board of Missions and on Sabbath delivered a 
specially prepared sermon on missions. 

In June by invitation he preached the bacca- 
laureate sermon before the students of Lebanon 
Valley College. He spoke from Titus 2:6: 
"Young men likewise exhort to be sober 
minded." The sermon abounded in wise counsels 
and fervid incentives to a pure and useful life. 
At this commencement the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity was conferred on him a second time. 
He neither accepted nor declined the honor, but 
left the matter " with the college, the Church, 
and the Lord." His grandson, Walter Hanger, 
was one of the graduating class of this year. The 
Bishop took much interest in the education of 
his grandsons. He had hoped that some of them 
would enter the ministry, and in such a case he 
stood ready to assist them in taking a course in 
Union Biblical Seminary. He had given his 
daughters good educational advantages, one of 
them having studied two years at Otterbein 



238 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



University, another having been a student at 
Cottage Hill College, and the others having at- 
tended other institutions. 

In August, 1884, Bishop Glossbrenner began 
his last round on his district for the current term. 
He was in fairly good health. His first confer- 
ence was the Miami. Here he had great pleasure 
in meeting with the brethren, and had great free- 
dom in preaching. He reached the place of 
holding the next conference, the North Ohio, in 
feeble condition. He was not able to be present 
at all the first day, and only able to be present 
for short periods afterward. On Saturday, in 
view of the seriousness of the attack which he 
felt coming on, he started for his home. Revs. 
W. J. Shuey, J. W. Hott, D. K. Flickinger, and 
B. Fritz each filled his place at one or more con- 
ferences. At Scioto Conference Dr. L. Davis, in 
speaking on a resolution of sympathy for Bishop 
Glossbrenner in his affliction, spoke as follows: 

"I have been in the ministry and Scioto Con- 
ference forty-six years; but the Bishop is a little 
older in years and also is my senior in the 
ministry. . . . He seems to be passing away 
from us, and this reminds me that my departure 
cannot be distant. I have always regarded 
Bishop Glossbrenner not only as a man of great 
powers as a preacher of Christ but as a model 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



239 



bishop. From every consideration this handling 
of the name of our bishop is tender to me, even 
as he himself comes very near to my heart." 

The exception before referred to, as to the 
general cordiality with which Bishop Glossbren- 
ner was received by the Ohio district, was with 
^N"orth Ohio Conference. Here prior to the first 
session of the conference, after the General Con- 
ference, a determined effort was made through 
the distribution of circulars, and the use of various 
means to effect a combination, to prevent his pre- 
siding. In the first session the conference refused 
to pass his official character, and in manifold ways 
indicated their displeasure at his presence among 
them. His presiding, however, was not directly 
resisted. At the next session his character was 
allowed to pass, though in such a way as to leave 
the tension unrelieved. At the third session most 
bitter and obstinate opposition was offered. Had 
not various considerations come in to modify the 
course fully resolved upon, the desperate counsel 
of excluding him from the chair would have been 
followed. As far as he was concerned he would 
have gladly left the conference to its own way, 
but duty urged him to remain at his post, and to 
this course he was advised by his friends. It is 
due to say that not all in the conference approved 
of the extreme course proposed. 



240 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



What had Bishop Glossbrenner done to deserve 
this treatment? If his course had long been 
culpable, why was this treatment reserved to be 
visited upon him at this late day; and if there 
was aught to charge against his recent adminis- 
tration, why was he not confronted with specific 
charges? If his whole course was deserving of 
censure, why did the General Conference continue 
to elect him bishop, and why did not other annual 
conferences discover his unfaithfulness? The 
answer is not difficult to find. At the Lisbon 
General Conference, those who were in favor of 
existing legislation on secret societies felt that 
the majority on which they had long been relying 
would soon pass into the minority. At least, 
they believed that this would be the case unless 
something unusual should be done to stay the 
tide. A less extreme class thought that this 
could be done through the circulation of papers 
and addresses, and this course was resolved upon. 
Others were not satisfied with this. Some of the 
members of North Ohio Conference held Bishop 
Glossbrenner responsible for the change of senti- 
ment that had been going on in the Church, or at 
least thought that he might have found methods 
to resist the course that tilings had taken. No 
specific charges could be framed, because there 
were no offences to adduce. Bishop Glossbrenner 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRJ3.NNER. 



241 



enforced, on this and every other subject, the 
legislation laid down by the General Conference 
as strictly as any one that ever held the office of 
bishop in the United Brethren Church. He did 
not make law of his own, thereby taking the 
place of the General Conference; and in executing 
law he did not invade the prerogative of the 
annual conference, thereby subverting the polity 
of the Church. Bishops in the United Brethren 
Church have little episcopal power. Dr. L. Davis 
has said that when he was bishop, about the only 
power that he found himself to possess was the 
power to appoint a presiding elder, in case of a 
vacancy. If a bishop should choose, however, he 
could head a party, introduce division, and in 
particular instances might carry out his will. 
One of the earlier bishops once said of himself 
that when he was very anxious for the success of 
a measure, he made a strong speech just at the last 
and then put the question before sitting down. 

Bishop Glossbrenner was early and sincerely 
opposed to secret societies, and from this position 
he never changed. At one time he declared with 
evident feeling that if persons were not satisfied 
with the Church on this principle of opposition 
to secrecy, they should go elsewhere. He himself 
also, at an early day, held the favorite radical 
opinion that the preachers were chargeable with 

16 



242 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



misleading the people, or at least with censurable 
weakness in yielding to temptation to increase 
unlawfully their membership. Mue tenths of 
those who were now on the liberal side and had 
held membership in the Church for twenty-five 
years, stood at the first where he had stood. 
They came to see that the difficulty was in the 
nature of the case, and the nature of external 
force and the mechanical action of law as a 
remedy. Those who have lived and wrought and 
suffered in the field where the. difficulties have 
been greatest, those who have had no other desire 
than to see the kingdom of Christ promoted, 
those who have had a stake in the future of the 
Church, in a special way those who have had 
children growing up in the fold of the Church 
and entering with hope the work of the Church 
— very many of these have seen that a change of 
method would be necessary if the Church was not 
to relinquish its mission. The ministers have 
not led in bringing about this change of view, 
nor have they been ready and unquestioning 
followers. 

Bishop Glossbrenner slowly yet clearly came to 
see that some change of method would be neces- 
sary. In his own personal convictions and by the 
character of his preaching he stood committed to 
the simple power of the gospel as the regenerat- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



243 



ing and conserving power on which the work and 
purity of the Church depended. Yet he trusted 
that the whole Church in a regular way would 
suit itself to changed conditions and manifest de- 
mands. He was, too, far from anticipating 
legislation that he might have reason to believe 
would soon be granted. It could easily be shown 
as a fact that liberal sentiment grew more 
rapidly under the administration of bishops 
reputed as radicals than under his administration. 

That his sentiments on some features included 
gradually underwent a change has already been 
stated. The right to thus change, and the right, if 
he so chose, to seek a change in the law T of the 
Church, will not be disputed by any fair-minded 
man. His course may, with great justice and ad- 
vantage, be regarded in the light of the following 
description by ex-President Porter of a conscien- 
tious man: "The truly conscientious man will 
always hear reasons and give reasons in reference 
to his beliefs and his actions. He is always ready 
to revise his opinions on the semblance of a reason. 
He is never afraid to consider a new truth, or to 
view an old truth in a new light, but seeks illu- 
mination from every quarter. The willfully blind, 
the doggedly obstinate, the passionately intoler- 
ant, the mulishly persistent in respect to those 
opinions of duty which they have blindly in- 



244 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



herited or adopted as partisans, are greatly 
deficient in the characteristic signs of a conscien- 
tious spirit." 

'No other conclusion is possible than that the 
gloom and disappointment resulting from the 
prospective failure permanently to maintain the 
old methods, lay at the basis of the treatment that 
Bishop Glossbrenner received. He was too gentle, 
noble, and restrained to reply in kind to the 
severe accusations that were indulged in against 
him. .No one ever heard from his lips or saw 
from his pen a harsh or uncharitable word in 
regard to those who literally wearied themselves 
to cause him pain. 

We now turn to events connected with the 
home life of Bishop Glossbrenner. February 14, 
1883, was the fiftieth anniversary of his married 
life. It was resolved by his family and friends 
that the reaching of the golden milestone in the 
married life of Bishop and Mrs. Glossbrenner 
should be appropriately celebrated. 

A brief notice of the immediate family of the 
Bishop will enable us better to appreciate the 
happiness of this joyous occasion. Out of a 
family of six children, one died in infancy, and 
five, all daughters, grew up to adult life. The 
oldest daughter, who was married to Rev. D. K. 
Flickinger, D. D., died in the brightness of 



LIFE OF GLOSSBKEXXER, 



245 



young life. The next oldest was married to Rev. 
W. B. Yonce, D. D. She died early leaving two 
children. Cornelia D., the oldest of the three liv- 
ing daughters, was married to Mr. H. H. Hanger, 
at present a merchant at Churchville. Jose- 
phine, the next oldest, was married to Rev. J. H. 
Turner, principal of the Lutheran Female Semi- 
nary, at Lutherville, Maryland. Henrietta C, 
the youngest, was married to Rev. T. A. Fox, 
D. D., a professor in Roanoke College. Mr. 
Hanger is a member of the United Brethren 
Church. Revs. Yonce, Turner, and Fox are all 
ministers in the Lutheran Church, all of them 
scholarly and able men, and all engaged in the 
work of instruction. The marriage of the Bish- 
op's daughters to these ministers of the Lutheran 
Church, outside of a destiny that is credited with 
shaping these relations, is to be set down to their 
visiting at Salem, Virginia, at which place Roan- 
oke College of the Lutheran Church is located. 
Two of them attended for a while a female semi- 
nary there, having their home meanwhile with 
an aunt. Late in the Bishop's life, Rev. J. Davis, 
D. D., of the Lutheran Church, an early and firm 
friend of the Bishop, jocosely asked him why he 
could not come over into the Lutheran Church, 
where he could have a pleasant settlement as 
pastor, and would not have so much of travel 



246 



LIFE OP GLOSSBKENNER. 



and hardship to endure. The Bishop replied in a 
similar vein, " Never! You Lutherans have kid- 
naped my children, and now you want to kidnap 
me. If I get out of the United Brethren Church 
I will try all of the rest first." 

Surrounded by their children and grand-chil- 
dren, along with kind friends and esteemed neigh- 
bors, Bishop and Mrs. Glossbrenner, in surveying- 
past mercies and present blessings, had every 
reason for devout joy and gratitude. At Church- 
ville, almost all of their married life had been 
spent. Here for four or five years they had been 
living in a comfortable and beautiful dwelling, 
planned and fitted up by themselves, as the place 
where they would spend their closing days. In 
this pleasant home they now welcomed their 
guests. The aged mother of Mrs. Glossbrenner 
was still living near Churchville, but was too fee- 
ble to be present. A few quotations will now be 
given from letters and addresses. Professor 
Turner addressed Mr. and Mrs. Glossbrenner in 
the following beautiful words: 

How much of sorrow and joy in fifty years ! What 
have these fifty years been? History has not written 
down all these events. These fifty years of your life 
have been important years to the wx>rld, and to the 
church especially. There were few missionaries then; 
now everywhere the Christian religion is preached. And 
now to you, my dear father and mother, may there be 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



247 



added to 3-our historjr many years. Fifty years ago your 
bridal tour was not in a palace car. No words of sym- 
pathy whispered then over wires to friends hundreds of 
miles away, Truty, these have been fifty years full of 
events. What of the next fifty years ? No couple cele- 
brates the close of the second fifty years in this world. 
Fifty years from now will find us enjoying other scenes. 
May God give }^ou many returns of your marriage day, 
and may we all meet at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 

Bishop Glossbreimer made an appropriate 
and affecting address, speaking in substance as 
follows : 

A number of our relatives and acquaintances are not 
here. We give you a cordial welcome. This is an 
important occasion to some of us. Marriage is a solemn 
contract. It cannot easily be broken. I have been mar- 
ried four times in my life. All to which I have been 
married are alive. 

My first solemn covenant was when I embraced Christ. 
Then I consented to live for Him and to die for Him. 
From Him I have not been separated. At eighteen I 
embraced religion, and have no cause to regret it. 

The second covenant was, when I became a member of 
the church. It is somewhere found in the Scriptures, 
As a young man marrieth a virgin so shall thy sons 
marry thee. I have not felt like leaving the church. 
The church has been faithful to me. It is better to hold 
on to this covenant. These covenants were entered into 
when I was young. 

The third marriage was when I took the vows of a 
Christian minister — when I consecrated myself to Christ 
fully. The church has branches. I joined with the 



248 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



United Brethren in Christ as a minister. The Church 
was then small. It was then weak. The Church has 
treated me well. In the church let me live; in the 
church let me labor; in the church let me suffer, if need 
be; in the church let me die, and stand at last with the 
white-robed throng of the church triumphant. Some 
hardships I have passed through, but not alone ; my 
wife, my true and faithful companion, endured them 
with me. The cares of my family in the earlier years of 
my ministry rested on my wife. A good wife is a bless- 
ing of God. She never said locate. My salary at first 
was eighty dollars, afterward, when married, it was for 
some years one hundred and sixty dollars. Now we are 
monuments of grace and mercy. 

The Church has grown. Our work has not been in 
vain. Our Church then numbered 20,000 members; 
now it has 160,000 members. But we can see results 
specially satisfactory in Virginia Conference. Then it 
embraced Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland — fifty- 
two years ago, when I joined it. In these bounds four 
and a half meeting-houses only were ours. Now we have 
two hundred and nine churches. I do not regret that I 
am wedded to this church. We all should be thus 
wedded, and then be steadfast. 

The fourth union was the marriage the anniversary 
of which we to-day celebrate. It has not been broken 
these fifty years. These years have been spent in love and 
confidence. There are not many so favored. I can only 
say, "The Lord is good; his mercy endureth forever." 

While the Bishop spoke, Mrs. Glossbrenner sat 
near and could not restrain the tears which the 
crowding memories of past years forced from her 
eyes. 



LIFE OF GLQSSBRENNER. 



249 



The following extract is from a letter addressed 
to the Bishop by a layman of a sister church at 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: 

How glad I would be to take you and your good wife 
by the hands, look into your eyes, and give you my 
hearty and affectionate congratulations, but distance and 
the condition of my health forbid it. During the past 
autumn I was confined to my room six weeks, and have 
only been once out of the city since. It is just about 
four years since I was so fortunate as to meet you. Dur- 
ing that time I have heard you preach five times. The 
subjects and manner of presenting them are so deeply im- 
pressed on my mind, so vividly before me, that I recall 
them in their order : " He is not here ; for he is risen." 
"Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." " Solomon, my 
son, know thou the God of thy fathers," etc. "Blessed 
are ye that sow beside all waters." "Giving thanks 
unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers 
of the inheritance of the saints in light." The last you 
preached in our church, and it seemed as if the glory of 
the Lord shone around you, and the King in his beauty 
was there. I write of this because I know it will be 
grateful for an old soldier of the cross to be assured that 
words fallen from his lips have been a benediction to an 
erring, wayward soul. How many weary, wretched 
wanderers you have comforted with the "unsearchable 
riches of Christ ' ' is known only to the Master. Doubt- 
less many, like the writer, who only "see men as trees 
walking," secretly thank you for clearer conceptions of 
the King's highway. .... 

I give you my sincere congratulations that your life 
has been protracted, and pray that you may yet live long 



250 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



to hear children's children call you blessed. May every 
good attend you so long as you both shall live, your gold 
to diamonds turn, and then a peaceful, painless passage 
to joys immortal and full of glory. 

These quotations will be concluded with the 
following letter from Dr. L. Davis, who on the 
evening of the golden wedding, celebrated at his 
home in Dayton, Ohio, with a number of friends, 
the entrance upon his seventieth year: 

Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner: — My Dear Brother: I 
cannot refrain from expressing my regret in not being 
able to be with you at your ' ' golden wedding ' ' on the 
14th inst. I can well remember the first time we met in 
life's journey; namely, in 1841, as you were on your way 
to the General Conference which met near Circleville, 
Ohio. Since that time we have often met in almost 
every relation of life known to ministers of the gospel, 
and it is pleasant to know that our personal attachments 
are strong and abiding. It adds to the pleasure to be- 
lieve that this friendship and brotherly love will continue 
till the last. You are my senior in years and also in 
the ministry but a little. On the 14th of this month the 
same day of your ' ' golden wedding, ' ' I shall enter into 
my seventieth year. So with us the time to pass from 
labor to reward is near. Many of those who started in 
life when we did and bravely worked for the Master by 
our side, have already passed over the river of Death and 
are now safe in Heaven. In due time I trust we shall 
join them. Meanwhile, let us do what we can for the 
peace and prosperity of our common Zion. Oh, for this 
let us live and strive to the last. Mrs. Davis joins me in 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



251 



congratulating yon and Sister Glossbrenner on this 
fiftieth anniversary of your married life. Peace and love 
to you and yours. Yours truly, Lewis Davis. 

When remarks were concluded, Bishop Gloss- 
brenner arose and led in singing, " Here I'll raise 
mine Ebenezer," and Eev. C. W. Stinespring, 
the pastor at Churchville, led in prayer. After- 
ward a rich repast was enjoyed. It is needless to 
add that many congratulatory letters and many 
valuable and appropriate presents were received. 

This hour of social joy had scarcely passed 
until the shadows began to fall. Within a little 
less than a year the mother of Mrs. Glossbrenner 
was taken to her eternal rest. Much of the time 
the Bishop was in feeble health, and Mrs. Gloss- 
brenner, who had been in delicate health for 
several years, began rapidly to fail. When 
Bishop Glossbrenner returned sick from $"orth 
Ohio Conference on his last round for the quad- 
rennium, his coming was unexpected. Such was 
the state of Mrs. Glossbrenner's health that the 
next day, had he not arrived just when he did, a 
dispatch would have been sent calling him home. 
When he looked upon his wife and she looked 
upon him, they could not express themselves 
except by tears. He was placed in one room and 
she in another room, with simply a hall between 
them. She was able to cross to his room just 



252 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



twice, and after that he was able to cross to her 
room once or twice each day to remain a short 
time. Their spirits were so bound to each other 
that it seemed if one should be taken, the other 
could not be restrained from going also. It was 
uncertain which might be taken first. 

At length, October 14, 1884, Mrs. G-lossbrenner 
passed into the life beyond, aged sixty-seven 
years, ten months and sixteen days. The 
Bishop's deep sense of the momentous realities 
beyond, and their dependence on a state of 
preparation here, was indicated by the fact that 
two days before the departure of his beloved 
companion, he, by earnest inquiries and sure 
encouragements, sought to prepare her mind for 
the impending change. The funeral was attended 
by Rev. J. L. Grimm, who had been well ac- 
quainted with the deceased. In an obituary 
sketch he said : " She was a quiet and unosten- 
tatious woman, combining a cheerful spirit, a 
sound discriminating judgment, an independent 
and refined mind, and a warm heart." She had 
been a Christian and a member of the United 
Brethren Church from the age of fifteen. Bishop 
Glossbrenner was able to be taken to the church 
to be present at the funeral service, but was too 
feeble to go to the cemetery. In his bereavement 
he was wonderfully sustained by divine grace. 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



253 



But life never was, never could be to him what 
it was before this saddest of all earthly losses, 
Mr. and Mrs. Hanger at once occupied his house 
with him, and he had all of the tender care that 
it was possible for a loving daughter to bestow. 

By degrees he began to improve, and came to 
have a considerable measure of strength. The 
disease with which he was struggling was largely 
local, and when it would intermit in its severity, 
his heart for work and further service became 
strong as in other years. This, added to a spirit 
next to unconquerable, made him desire to be in 
the held, even when his best friends, those who 
would have enjoyed his labors most, could they 
have been bestowed without such cost and risk to 
himself, would have preferred that he spare him- 
self from all taxing exertion. 

In the spring of 1885 he resumed his preaching. 
He attended Ontario Conference, preached the 
annual sermon before the students of Union 
Biblical Seminary, attended the session of the 
Board of Missions, and at the meeting of the 
General Conference at Fostoria, Ohio, seemed to 
be in the enjoyment of a large measure of 
strength. 



CHAPTER XL 



Nineteenth. General Conference — Bishops' Address — 
Changed Attitude of the Church — The Commission 
— Producing Causes — Embarrassments to Progress — 
Emeritus Bishop — Expressions of Esteem — Last Ad- 
dress — Sermon — Immediate Engagements — Session of 
Church Commission — Further Work — Sickness and 
Death — Nature and Significance of Life and Character 
— Personal Characteristics — Secular Side — Social and 
Religious Character — Character as a Preacher — His 
Eminence — Character as a Bishop — Qualities as a 
Presiding Officer — Influence Immortal. 

The nineteenth General Conference assembled 
at Fostoria, Ohio, May 14, 1885. This was the 
last General Conference that Bishop Glossbremier 
would be permitted to attend. Forty-eight }-ears 
before he attended his first session of General 
Conference as a delegate from Virginia Confer- 
ence. Not one who was a delegate with him at 
that session was now alive. Hiestand, Erb, 
Coons, Hanby, and the elder Kumler were 
honored members of that early conference. Rev. 
A. Biddle and Rev. Josiah Davis were the only 
living ones of those who served as delegates with 
him in 1841. The only survivors among his 
fellow-members in the General Conference of 

254 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



255 



1845, at which time he was first elected bishop, 
were Rev. Josiah Davis, at present a minister in 
the Universalist Church, and Rev. John Hoobler, 
who was in attendance as a visitor at the session 
of 1885. Eev. J. B. Resler and Rev. Daniel 
Shuck were the only delegates in the General 
Conference of 1885 who had served as delegates 
as early as 1853. Thus Bishop Glossbrenner 
stood as the remnant of an earlier generation. 
Russel, Hanby, Erb, Edwards, Markwood, and 
the younger Kumler, all of whom had served 
with him in the office of bishop, were gone to 
their long home. Among those present as 
bishops, Bishop Weaver, who in term of service 
ranked next to him, was twenty years his junior 
in the office of bishop. The Church, which in 
1845, when he was first elected bishop, numbered 
30,000 members, now numbered 168,573 members. 
The gain for the quadrennium just closed was 
10,861, a gain relatively quite small. By the 
change in the method of representation, the 
number of delegates elected was 121, instead of 
141, the number that would have been elected at 
the ratio of three to a conference. 

Altogether, the session of General Conference 
for this year was the most interesting and signifi- 
cant since the first General Conference in 1815. 
Since 1849, especially since 1869, there had been 



256 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



dissatisfaction and controversy in respect to the 
rigid anti-secrecy legislation of the Church, which 
legislation was required by the article of the 
constitution which declared, " There shall be no 
connection with secret combinations." The op- 
position had been rapidly gaining ground for a 
number of years, and it now became evident that 
if a course could be taken that should be decided, 
and yet not violent, the great majority of the 
Church would sustain it. The bishops in their 
address, which was read by Bishop Glossbrenner, 
opened the whole question through the following 
recommendations : 

"1. In that it is admitted that our present con- 
stitution has not been as yet submitted to a vote 
of the whole society, that you determine whether 
the whole subject under consideration is or is not 
yet in the hands of the General Conference. 

" 2. Should you determine that it is yet in your 
hands, then transfer the whole subject from the 
realm of constitutional law to the field of legisla- 
tive enactment. . . . 

" 3. That you limit the prohibitory feature of 
your enactment to combinations, secret and open, 
to which the Church believes a Christian cannot 
belong. 

" 4. Should you decide that this constitutional 
question is beyond your control and in the hands 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



257 



of the whole society, then submit the above prop- 
ositions properly formulated to a vote of the 
whole society, and let a two-thirds vote of those 
voting be the authoritative voice of the Church 
on the subject." 

While the address was not prepared by Bishop 
Glossbrenner, he yet indorsed the recommenda- 
tions contained. As early as 1869 he had spoken 
in favor of submitting to the membership an 
amendment to the constitution touching the sub- 
ject of secret societies. A large committee was 
appointed to which were referred the constitu- 
tion, the confession of faith, and the law on 
secrecy. The course of the bishops in taking 
this action was extraordinary in nothing save 
that it was a departure from the negative course 
on the subject that at this time was expected of 
them. That the whole subject should be made a 
matter of inquiry should have been surprising to 
no one. If more thorough and comprehensive 
measures were contemplated, it was because pre- 
vious delays and refusals to satisfy long-existing 
wants had deepened and consolidated demands. 

The committee appointed reported in favor of 
the recognition of the constitution as binding 
under its own article regulating changes. This 
liberal way of passing by defects in the adoption 
of the constitution, this refusal to be governed by 

17 



258 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENXER. 



petty technicality, plainly called for a like liberal 
spirit in interpreting the constitution, particu- 
larly the indefinite article in regard to changes. 
The committee also reported in favor of the 
appointment of a commission which should revise 
the constitution and the confession of faith, and 
submit the same as amended to the vote of the 
Church, two thirds of those voting to be sufficient 
for approval. Pending the adoption of this report, 
the most able debate, in the history of the Gen- 
eral Conferences thus far, took place. Both sides 
displayed ability, knowledge of the principles 
involved, and strength of conviction. The report 
was adopted by a vote of seventy-seven to forty- 
two, Bishops Glossbrenner, "Weaver, Castle and 
Kephart voting in the affirmative. Whatever may 
be said of the steps to revise the confession of 
faith at this time, there certainly seems to be in 
the course pursued as to the constitution, no vio- 
lence to the recognized constitution, and no clash- 
ing with the general usage in connection with 
perplexed and emergent times and conditions. 

The same committee reported a law on secret 
societies, excluding members of all secret socie- 
ties " at variance with the word of God," and 
infringing on the rights of those without their 
pale; violations to be dealt with as in other cases 
of disobedience to order and discipline. After 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRBNNER. 



259 



an amendment which added as another distin- 
guishing mark, "injurious to Christian char- 
acter," the report was adopted by a vote of 
seventy-six to thirty-eight. The report was 
proposed by members of the committee holding 
radical anti-secrecy views, and was accepted by 
the full committee as a compromise measure. 
On the vote to adopt before the General Confer- 
ence, members divided for the most part on party 
lines. Bishop Glossbrenner in explaining his 
vote cast on the affirmative side, said, "It is 
known to the ministers of this church, east and 
west, north and south, that I have been recog- 
nized as a modificationist for years, although I 
did not impose my views on those with whom 
I associated." That anyone who voted for the 
law was entirely pleased with it is very doubtful. 

This was the outcome of a long course of 
effort to exclude from the Church all members 
of secret societies. The rigorous policy had had 
great advantages in its favor. To begin with, 
it had almost the unanimous sentiment of the 
Church in its favor. Then it became embodied 
in law and the constitution before the great mul- 
titude of secret societies arose. It had, moreover, 
the support of men of distinguished ability and 
firm convictions, who in fostering sentiment, in 
securing the enactment and enforcement of law, 



260 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNEft. 



and in applying the whips of party discipline, did 
all that was possible for the wisest and ablest 
leaders to do. If they failed, in whole or in part, 
it was because they contended against the in- 
evitable. On the other hand, the growth of the 
opposite sentiment in the minds of the ministers, 
was not so much owing to a conviction that 
connection with all or any secret societies was 
harmless, as to the fact that in certain circum- 
stances members of the Church were easily per- 
suaded that they might innocently form such a 
connection, and the fact that serious complica- 
tions were the result. There would be other 
members to whom the harm would not be 
apparent. When ministers viewed particular 
cases, and then considered the effect of discipline 
on their charges, they hesitated to proceed 
against offenders. Others zealous for the law, 
would succeed them, and in the effort to carry 
out discipline, hundreds of congregations were 
broken up. Thus the facility of getting into 
difficulty and the ruinous cost of escaping from 
the difficulty kept every prosperous congregation 
in the Church, especially in the cities, constantly 
on the eve of an explosion. Ministers might 
themselves have firm convictions as to the recti- 
tude of the law of the Church, but the difficulty 
was that the law could not commend itself to 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



261 



every man's conscience. Bishop Glossbrenner, in 
the light of unnumbered disasters to the most 
hopeful congregations, concluded that the law 
that made such occurrences not only possible but 
inevitable, might be wisely and rightfully mod- 
ified. 

Undoubtedly the tendency in the different 
Christian denominations is to insist on a purer 
and stricter Christian life. But there is also a 
tendency, inherent in Protestantism itself, in 
cases in which applications are not evident, to 
use every moral means toward creating in the 
individual the governing power of nobler sen- 
timents and higher character. The United 
Brethren Church receives a large part of its 
increase by conversions from those strangers to 
its history, and the polity of the Church places 
the rulership with the membership in general. 
The secret of security is therefore in true con- 
version and a genuine and earnest spiritual life. 
The denomination that would justify its existence 
and secure the surest lease on the future will 
make intense evangelical character its distin- 
guishing characteristic. 

Since 1865 the consciousness of the United 
Brethren Church, especially as regards the re- 
lation of the Church to God's kingdom in 
general, had been more or less disturbed. Ear- 



262 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER. 



lier it had been an earnest and propelling 
conviction that the older denominations failed 
largely in fulfilling the purpose of the church 
of Christ, and in view of this dereliction and 
perversion, largely in the direction of formalism, 
a special burden was laid upon the United Breth- 
ren as a people. An improvement in the older 
churches and the touching upon their circle at 
more numerous points, as also a more intimate 
acquaintance with denominations differing less 
widely in character, along with the gathering of 
new members from the most diverse sources, led 
to indetiniteness and uncertainty as to the special 
mission of the Church. Also the turning of so 
much attention to enterprises to be built up 
within the Church had, for the time, as regards 
some features, a limiting and bewildering effect. 
The reduced gains of the Church for a number of 
years prior to 1885, may be referred, in part, to 
this confused consciousness, as it has been termed, 
as regards the mission and relations of the 
Church, rather than exclusively to the distrac- 
tions arising from the secrecy question. The 
lowest point was reached in 1881, when there 
was an actual loss in membership. Since that 
time the conditions seem to have changed thor- 
oughly and permanently for the better. The 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ has 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



263 



borne the suspense of these general conditions, 
and has sustained the strain of the most trying 
internal conflict as perhaps no other denomina- 
tion in" America could have done. In all of this 
period, the conserving, vitalizing, and guarding 
influence of Bishop Glossbrenner was as helpful 
as it was necessary. He kept to his work of 
preaching the gospel as the sufficient and only 
remedy for the evils of the world, and as the 
sufficient and only security of the church of 
Christ. In calm and in storm he urged patience 
and faithfulness, the things which were not 
uncertain, the things on which there was no 
division. How often through a period of forty 
years, at the close of conference sessions, annual 
and general, or in giving a solemn charge to 
ministers, he quoted the words of scripture, and 
how beautiful and fit they appeared on his lips : 
" "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same 
thing, and that there be no divisions among you; 
but that ye be perfectly joined together in the 
same mind and in the same judgment" (I. Corin- 
thians; 1:10); and again, " Let us walk by the 
same rule, let us mind the same thing " (Philip- 
pians, 3: 16). 

Prior to the meeting of the General Confer- 
ence, Bishop Glossbrenner had felt that if he 



264 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



could finish up his tenth term of service he would 
do well. About the time of the General Confer- 
ence, however, his health had improved much 
beyond his own expectations. At a number of 
places where he preached, his friends thought that 
he had strength for another term of service, and 
thus expressed themselves to him. They thought 
that he preached as Avell as at any time in his life, 
and greatly desired that his services should be 
retained. Influenced by these views and by the 
over-estimate of his own strength, into which one 
of his temperament is so liable to fall, he 
unwisely, as events soon proved, allowed friends 
in the General Conference to cast their votes for 
his re-election for a new term of service. On 
taking up the ballots it appeared that he received 
more than half of the number of votes necessary 
to elect. Thus did many of the delegates indicate 
their esteem for him, while there were others who 
meant no less esteem in voting for younger and 
more vigorous men. 

After results were announced, the office of 
emeritus bishop was provided for, and to this 
honored position Bishop Glossbrenner was 
elected by a rising vote. E.ev. J. W. Hott 
offered the following preamble and resolutions 
which were adopted by a hearty rising vote: 

" Whereas, Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner has 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



265 



faithfully served the Church as one of its bishops 
for forty years ; and, 

" Whereas, During the past quadrennium he 
has suffered much in personal affliction and sore 
bereavement which befell him in the death of 
Sister Glossbrenner, who over a half century was 
his faithful companion in the toils of the Church 
in the kingdom and patience of Christ; and, 

" Whereas, On account of the gathering in- 
firmities of years, this conference has relieved 
him from the toils formerly demanded of him, 
and has given him the relation of bishop emer- 
itus-, therefore, 

"Resolved, 1. That Bishop Glossbrenner has the 
united confidence and affection of our hearts, and 
that we will ever remember him in our prayers. 

" 2. That while we have exacted no duties at 
his hands, we will warmly and cheerfully wel- 
come him to our conferences in any duty which 
he, in counsel with his associates, may deem 
himself able to perform.'" 

" The conference was carried on a wave of 
sympathy and love," as led by Bishop Weaver, 
almost, if not quite all of the members came to 
the platform and gave to Bishop Glossbrenner 
the hand of good will and parting salutation. 
Many wept. The aged bishop stood meanwhile, 
his entire form swaying with emotion. His mind 



266 



LIFE OF GLQSSBKEXXER. 



going back to the time when Otterbein clasped 
Boehm in his arms and exclaimed, " We are 
brethren," he uttered the beautiful words: " "We 
are sons of Otterbein. We are fellow-servants of 
our ascended Lord. We are brethren in the 
common hope of the life to come." He was born 
the year before Otterbein died. Putting his term 
as bishop with the terms of H. Kumler, sen., and 
Newcomer, a complete line would be formed 
leading back to the founding of the Church and 
the superintendency of Otterbein. 

At the conclusion of the session Bishop Gloss- 
brenner addressed the conference in the following- 
cheerful and encouraging words: 

"Will you allow me just about two minutes ? 
I have no doubt but that the bishops whom you 
have just elected all feel good, are fully satisfied, 
and will go on their way rejoicing to their fields 
of labor. But I doubt whether they feel much 
better than I do. I feel perfectly happy and 
perfectly satisfied with what you have done in 
my case, and especially do I feel grateful in my 
heart for those good, kind, encouraging expres- 
sions which you have made to me during the 
session of this conference. I look back through 
the history of my life for forty years, and I am 
glad to say to-night that in these forty years I 
have labored with my associates in the episco- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



267 



pacy with delight, and that during these forty 
years we have had no difficulties among us to 
settle. We have encouraged one another in our 
work and labor of love. A number of those who 
have labored with me in this department have 
gone to their long home. Quite a number that I 
could mention just now, who were engaged with 
me in this work, have gone to their rest. And 
now I say to you, as my brethren in Christ, stand 
fast, be firm, maintain the truth as it is in Christ. 
Hearken unto the voice of the divine Master, 
6 Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee 
a crown of life.' And, my beloved brethren, 
while I cannot labor with you in the active work 
as formerly, I bid you Godspeed. My prayer shall 
be for your prosperity wherever in the providence 
of God you may be called to live and labor, to 
suffer and to die. And now I hand this gavel to 
the next oldest bishop in this church, and I hope 
that from him it will go down to the next, and so 
on for the next hundred years." 

Bishop Weaver then addressed the conference, 
making appreciative and affecting allusions to 
his senior associate. Thus was concluded the 
nineteenth General Conference, it being the 
thirteenth that Bishop Glossbrenner had been 
permitted to attend. By the conference he was 
re-elected president of the missionary board, and 



268 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENXER. 



also as a member of the commission to revise the 
constitution and confession of faith. On the first 
Sabbath of the session he preached a " grand ser- 
mon on the Saints' Inheritance." 

After General Conference Bishop Glossbrenner 
returned to Virginia. He preached the annual 
sermon before the students of Shenandoah Insti- 
tute at Dayton, Virginia. He then arranged to 
fill a number of appointments for July, August 
and September, but was compelled, after filling 
his first appointment, to abandon the rest. He 
was taken sick at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where 
he was kindly cared for at the pleasant home of 
Mr. J. H. Seltzer. On going to Harrisburg, being 
still quite indisposed, he received the kindest at- 
tention at the home of Rev. D. S. Early. He 
spent the hot months of the summer at the 
homes of his daughters at Lutherville, Maryland, 
Salem, Virginia, and Churchville, Virginia. In 
October he preached the dedicatory sermon at 
the opening of the audience room of Otterbein 
Church at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

In November he went to Dayton, Ohio, where 
assembled on the 17th of the month, the commis- 
sion to revise the confession of faith and the 
constitution of the Church. The commission 
consisted of twenty-seven members, representing 
the best intelligence, truest piety, and most re- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



269 



sponsible character of the Church. Twenty-five 
of the twenty-seven members were present. The 
session continued through six days. Bishop 
Glossbrenner served on the committee that pre- 
pared and reported the revised confession of 
faith. He took a deep interest and an active 
part in the entire work of the commission. His 
influence was in favor of a conservative course. 
A clear statement of principal things and a firm 
adherence to tried methods, were the features 
sought by him. He believed in growth and 
in adjustments to suit a larger work and new con- 
ditions, but elements wholly foreign were repug- 
nant to him. The revised confession differed 
from the old confession chiefly in being more 
clear and full. The revised constitution provided 
for lay delegation in the General Conference, gave 
to the General Conference the power to legislate 
on secret societies, and in various respects com- 
pleted and harmonized the polity of the Church. 
Prospective wants as well as present conditions 
were regarded. The commission arranged that 
the vote of the membership for the approval or 
rejection of the revised confession and constitu- 
tion should occur in November, 1888. 

Bishop Glossbrenner's having a part in the 
commission alienated from him some of his 
warmest and most esteemed friends. He felt 



270 LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNFR. 

keenly the loss of tlieir friendship. By individual 
members of the Church the action of General 
Conference in constituting the commission was 
bitterly condemned. The acts and motives of 
those who participated in the adoption of this 
method to lead the Church out of almost hope- 
less distraction were freely censured. The gen- 
eral interests of the Church were purposely 
embarrassed, and disaffection was industriously 
promoted. Alluding to such things, Bishop 
Glossbrenner, in a letter, expressed himself as 
follows: "That difference of opinion on many 
questions should exist, is not to be wondered at. 
It will always be so. None can claim infallibility. 
On many questions we must agree to disagree. 
If my brother does not agree with me, I will not 
cast him off and impugn his motives. To his 
own Master he stands or falls. The spirit mani- 
fested in some directions by some men I conceive 
to be contrary to the gospel; and when I hear 
their bitter speeches, and see their hard sayings 
in print, I simply feel to say, ' I have not so 
learned Christ.' I wish to follow peace with all 
men, and holiness, without which I cannot .live 
happy or die in peace." 

In the winter of 1885 and 1886 he spent two 
months in traveling and responding to various 
calls for his services. The following spring 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



271 



lie attended East Pennsylvania Conference 
at Mountville, and Pennsylvania Conference at 
Harrisburg. At Harrisburg, according to his 
own desire, he filled on Sabbath morning the pul- 
pit of Memorial Church. Between this church 
and himself there had sprung up, from a partic- 
ular cause, an estranged feeling, lie desired to 
manifest to the church his good will and Chris- 
tian fellowship. He also attended Virginia 
Conference at Berkeley Springs. At all of these 
conference sessions he assisted Bishop Dickson in 
presiding. 

Leaving home early in the following April, he 
filled a long and varied line of engagements. He 
first visited a short time at the home of his 
daughter, at Salem, Virginia. Here he preached 
a sermon and made an address to the students of 
Roanoke College. He then went to White Pine, 
Tennessee, where he preached once, and addressed 
the students of Edwards Academy. He had a 
special interest in the welfare of the Church in 
Tennessee. He attended the commencement 
exercises of Union Biblical Seminary at Dayton, 
Ohio, and then went to Roanoke, Indiana, where 
the missionary board met. Thence he went to 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he spent several 
days, giving an earnest talk at the prayer-meeting 
of Memorial Church. He then filled appointments 



272 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREKNER. 



in quick succession at Sinking Springs, Reading, 
Myerstown, Lebanon and Annville. At Ann- 
ville he attended the commencement exercises of 
Lebanon Valley College. He afterward preached 
at Mount Joy, Mountville, Lancaster, York 
Haven, Mount Wolf, and re-opened St. Paul's 
Church near Mount Wolf. His last sermon — 
the last for this line of appointments and the last 
for his life — was preached June 27th at the dedi- 
cation of a church near Parkton, Maryland. He 
arrived at home June 29th, after an absence of 
nearly three months. Above his expenses he 
received in remuneration sixty dollars. The 
General Conference had asked those receiving 
the benefits of his services to give him suitable 
remuneration. His eagerness to be in the work, 
however, was not to be restrained by temporal 
considerations. After his return from this trip 
he wrote to a friend, calling him his bishop, and 
gave a full report of this his last itinerant work. 
He concluded his report as follows : " I am 
somewhat weary, but in good health and spirits. 
The Master has called me to work, and with 
the strength that he gives me, I am willing to 
work. I feel more and more every day that my 
time for working will soon be past. Pray for 
me that 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENiSEK. 273 

... 4 with my latest breath 
I may but gasp my Savior's name, 

Preach him to all and cry in death 
Behold, behold the Lamb.' " 

He was anxious to work, but traveling was 
becoming specially wearisome to him. Being 
left without a special work, he was much per- 
plexed as to w T hat and how much he should 
undertake to do. He was now asked to take 
charge of George Street Church in Baltimore, and 
signified his acceptance. He was very anxious 
that the "United Brethren Church begin a work in 
Washington City, and would have willingly en- 
tered upon labor there. Beginning with the last 
of July, he had consented to fill a number of ap- 
pointments in Pennsylvania, including a church 
dedication, and to assist at a number of camp- 
meetings. When urged to limit the amount of 
his labor he said, " I w T ill make no rash promises." 
But alas, his enfeebled body had responded to the 
demands of his imperious and devoted spirit until 
it no longer had strength to respond. After July 
8th he became disqualified for all work, although 
his hope that he might yet be able to labor for 
the Master did not desert him. Kecovering some- 
what, he was able to be about the house for a 
time. In August he was able to be taken to a 
health resort in the mountains, known as the 

18 



274 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



Lone Fountain, but returned after a week with- 
out having received the expected benefit. 

It now became evident that the malady under 
which he was suffering was cancerous tumor of 
the stomach, a disease attended with great dis- 
tress, and which finally, depriving the patient of 
all nourishment, leaves him to die by sheer 
exhaustion. He had already passed the limit at 
which the disease usually terminates in death. 
His constitution, notwithstanding his age, con- 
tinued to resist the preying of disease, for yet 
months to come. Notwithstanding indications 
at times that the attack might pass off as had 
other attacks, every unfavorable alternation car- 
ried him lower, lower than he had yet been. 

While in health, he had in his preaching, 
spoken in an intensely realistic way, of passing 
down into the cold valley of death and of entering 
upon the glories on the other side- His preach- 
ing was now put to the test in his own case. 
With both eyes open, conscious of all the weak- 
ness and distress that mortals pass through, he 
faced the dread monster Death, and his confidence 
remained unshaken. He was not exempted from 
the severest trials, but he was given grace to bear 
them. Without murmuring, and with constant 
faith in God, he bore all his sufferings and the 
suspense of his lingering disease. The whole 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



275 



Church watched with anxious sympathy for 
every announcement as to his condition. 

While lying sick, coming to understand that 
some difficulty existed between a brother min- 
ister of his own conference and himself, he wrote 
to him saying that he wished all differences ad- 
justed "before he crossed the river." The brother 
visited him and both were rejoiced in the removal 
of the cloud that had rested upon their fellowship. 

A presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, who visited him in November, wrote: 
" As I looked upon him, lying upon his bed, 
reduced to a shadow of his former self, and 
scarcely able to raise himself up at all, I thought 
of his vigorous, manly form when first I became 
acquainted with him and heard him preach 
nearly fifty years ago; but now how is the strong 
staff broken and the beautiful rod. Notwith- 
standing his extreme physical debility, his mind 
is remarkably clear and his confidence is strong 
in the Lord." 

Immediately after this, Mr. John Dodds, of 
Dayton, Ohio, a bosom friend of the Bishop 
through nearly all of his public life, went to 
Churchville to visit him, and remained from 
Saturday to Monday evening. To Bishop Gloss- 
h>renner this visit was a source of boundless 
comfort. As he had strength, he spoke of the 



276 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



conferences over which he had often presided 9 of 
brethren in all parts of the Church, and of the 
various institutions and general interests of the 
Church. These references were all with deepest 
tenderness, and often with weeping eyes. His 
love for the Church and desire for its peace and 
prosperity, always so sincerely felt, never shone 
out more touchingly than now. In this conversa- 
tion he said that his work was done. He hoped 
that others would carry forward the work of the 
Church with increased success. He would have 
been glad to live to the next General Conference 
and see a favorable issue from the present crisis in 
the Church. He said "If I could preach again, 
just once more, I would preach Jesus; I would 
preach from his words to the disciples on the 
Sea of Galilee, ' It is I, be not afraid.' " He said, 
"My title is clear, not because I have preached the 
gospel, but alone through the love and mercy of 
our Lord Jesus Christ." After Mr. Dodds had 
bidden him good-bye, leaving him lying in his 
bed, quiet, but deeply affected, he started to leave 
the house. The family also stepped outside. 
Looking back, they saw the Bishop standing 
near the door, having gotten out of bed unas- 
sisted. With hand uplifted and with streaming 
eyes he said, " Brother Dodcls, tell the brethren it 
is all right. My home is over there." 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



277 



He continued to grow weaker until the morn- 
ing of January 7, 1887, when he calmly fell 
asleep in Jesus. His last words were " My 
Savior." The last service in which he shared 
was a service of song and prayer in his own room 
a week hefore his death. At the time of his death 
he was seventy-four years, five months and thir- 
teen days of age. He had been fifty-six years a 
minister and forty-two years a bishop. He had 
not lost a single year from the active work of the 
ministry. He had requested that arrangements 
for his funeral be simple and plain, and that 
brethren in the ministry bear his body to its last 
resting place. He also desired that some one 
who had been associated with him in the general 
work of the Church, Bishop Weaver if possible, 
preach his funeral sermon. In all these respects 
his desires were fulfilled. 

The following from the pen of Dr. Hott, 
written in the chamber of death on the morn- 
ing of January 11th, before the funeral services 
at the church, is too beautiful to be omitted : 

On the casket, on a large, heavy silver plate, ware 
these words : 

"BLESSED ARE THE DEAD 

WHO DIE IN THE LORD." 

The hands that have for fifty-six years been lifted up in 
pointing out to men the way of life, lie empty on the 



278 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



breast. In the chamber about are the evidences of taste, 
love, his own peculiar life. Across the room against the 
wall hangs a life-size bust portrait of his companion, 
with whom he walked the way of life more than fifty 
years, upon which he so often looked during these 
months of suffering, and whose name he called when his 
feet were down far in the waters of the Jordan. On the 
door hangs the ponch containing the beautiful canes 
with which his latest tottering steps were stayed, gifts 
of friends. At the foot of the casket is his rich library, 
from which he was long accustomed to draw help in his 
great work. Everywhere are the evidences of his own 
peculiar life and love and labor. But in the midst of it 
all he is asleep, blessed sleep, asleep in Jesus. He is 
dressed in a plain clerical black suit, such as he wore in 
the pulpit, with a white tie upon his neck. His eyes are 
deeply sunken under his great brow, and over them 
hang those heavy black eyebrows, the like of which are 
seldom seen. His broad, smooth brow is as natural as 
life, and his thin, gray, silken hair upon his round, well- 
formed head seems the picture of life. His lips, just a 
little parted, retain their splendid mold, and look as if 
they were about to speak. His entire face, except the 
wasted thinness, wears its smooth, calm mold of beauty^. 
In his countenance there are no traces of sorrow or 
anguish, or of bodily suffering. The appearance is pleas- 
ant and welcoming as life. The features and countenance 
are those of trust and hope. 

The sermon of Bishop Weaver was a just and 
fitting tribute to his departed associate. At times 
lie was almost unable to proceed on account of 
the tender and strong emotions that filled his 



LLFE OF GrLOSSBHENJSER. 



279 



own heart. The body of Bishop Glossbrenner 
was laid to rest beside that of his wife in the 
union cemetery near Church ville. Here in the 
little cemetery by the roadside, overlooking the 
romantic scenery that had charmed his heart in 
youth and afforded him solace in age, in this spot 
which he had assisted in planning and where he 
desired his ashes to rest, his body was tenderly 
placed, awaiting the resurrection of the just. 

This chapter will be concluded with a review 
and a more connected description of the life and 
character of Bishop Glossbrenner. In his case 
an evenness that seemed to exclude all striking 
characteristics was itself the most distinguishing 
characteristic. His real greatness was concealed 
under the mask of his modest nature and perfect 
self-control. He was even, balanced, and mature 
in knowledge of self. His best efforts included 
the harmonious and full exercise of all the powers 
of mind and heart. "Within his pliant glove 
there were sinews of iron. His determination, 
while not demonstrative, was perfect in calcula- 
tion and persistent in execution. 

In traveling almost constantly on the cars, 
through so many years, he never but once missed 
a train. "When the time came for him to leave 
for his work, no considerations could divert or 
delay him. With him gentleness often accom- 



280 



LIFE OF GKLOSSBRENNEB,. 



plished what a display of force would have been 
unable to achieve. He was cheerful without 
lightness, and easy without familiarity. He bore 
meekly popularity unsought. Until late in his 
life he never repeated conpliments bestowed upon 
him. The apprehension of failing powers toward 
the last caused him to take greater notice of the 
estimates of others. In a certain manner, he 
always cared for the esteem and good will of 
others. He was not one of those who affect to 
despise public sentiment and at the same time 
demand that this same public sentiment shall 
praise them for their audacity. With the true 
sentiments of a gentleman he claimed respect for 
himself, and as freely responded to the claims 
and feelings of others. He did not possess a few 
thoughts or cherish a few sentiments at extremes, 
with a barren waste between; neither did his 
mind and heart occupy a solitary middle point, 
with wastes to the right and left. 

In his secular affairs he was cautious and care- 
ful. He received property to the amount of 
several thousand dollars from his wife's father. 
This, together with the provident management of 
his faithful wife, gave him a freedom to engage in 
the work of the ministry that he would not other- 
wise have had. It was necessary, however, that 
he add his planning and effort that he might 



LIFE OE GLOSSBREXNER. 



281 



respectably rear and educate his children, and 
prudently provide for wants that might confront 
him. He was hospitable at his home and charita- 
ble toward the needy. He early made himself 
and one of his daughters life directors of the 
missionary society. He gave to church interests 
here and there. It was the opinion of some that 
he was worth from fifty to sixty thousand dollars, 
and that he therefore should have given more 
freely to the various calls that came to him. 
Referring to a request for a donation of one 
thousand dollars to one of the interests of the 
Church, he said that he had already given one 
hundred and seventy-live dollars in money and 
two hundred dollars in subscription to that inter- 
est, and could do no more at that time. His 
property was mostly in land, which yielded small 
returns. His resources were further lessened by 
interest that he must meet on borrowed money. 
At his death he left an estate valued at about ten 
thousand dollars outside of insurance that he 
carried on his life. A part of this came into his 
hands after he ceased to receive salary from the 
Church, and all of this and more was properly to 
be set down to the amount received through the 
family of Mrs. Glossbrenner. The first year that 
he served as bishop he received thirty-six dollars 
above his traveling expenses. Before the war he 



282 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



was simply entitled to from two hundred to 
three hundred dollars per year. After the war 
he received from seven hundred and fifty to one 
thousand dollars per year, with an increase to 
fifteen hundred dollars per year for the last 
term that he served a regular district. Bishop 
Glossbrenner never complained of the amount of 
his salary, even when it was the most meager, 
and when it became somewhat more adequate, 
it was gratefully acknowledged. Writing in 
1884, he said: "Sometimes we hear ministers 
boasting of what they have done for the church. 
I have nothing to boast of in that direction, but 
would rather thank God for what the church 
has done for me." 

In his social relations he was sincere, devoted, 
welcoming and reciprocating the warmest friend- 
ship. He could not, however, simulate respect 
and confidence that were not felt, and his caution 
naturally limited his closest friendship to a re- 
stricted circle. 

His character as a Christian rested upon his 
unreserved acceptance of the divine authority of 
Christianity, and a life hid with Christ in God. 
A freshness, a living trust in God in ordinary as 
well as in unusual circumstances, and habitual 
devotion characterized his religious life. His 
prayers in his family, and when a guest among 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



288 



friends, as well as in the public congregation, 
were models of tenderness and appropriateness. 
Repentance toward God for all sin, trust in him 
for all grace, and the claiming of the exalted 
privilege of Christian assurance through the 
witness of the Spirit — the crowning facts in all 
evangelical experience — were most conspicuous in 
his life and work. 

His pre-eminent success as a minister was 
largely due to his unvarying devotion to his 
work. Herein, perhaps, lies the chief value of 
his life as an example to young ministers. Having 
satisfied himself as to his duty, his course was 
from that moment settled. "When hardships or 
unpleasant duties confronted him, he did not go 
back over the question of his call to the ministry 
and canvass again the reasons for his particular 
direction in life. He did not rely for success 
upon supposed genius or upon favor. What the 
world most needs is an inspiring model to men 
of a " sound mind, a pure heart and ordinary 
gifts and attainments." 

Bishop Glossbrenner will be remembered 
chiefly as a preacher of the gospel. With him 
sympathy for the truth and sympathy for men 
stood in fair proportion to each other. The 
former was sufficiently strong to make him a 
student, and to impel him in his general prepara- 



284 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



tion, especially in causing him to lay up in his 
mind a rich store of scripture truth. The latter 
predominated in the direct preparation of his 
sermons. He sought to bring from his text and 
subject what would meet the wants of his hearers. 
There are three kinds of unity — the logical, unity 
from the standpoint of a leading idea; the emo- 
tional, that attained through the government of 
a master emotion; and lastly, the unity effected 
by the organizing power of a particular purpose. 
If these are combined, as far as in particular cases 
they admit of combination, they give us the ideal 
structure of a sermon. We then have fidelity to 
subject matter, a predominant sentiment, and an 
energy brought to bear upon the will. Bishop 
Glossbrenner's sermons always evinced unity in 
one or more of these forms. He preached doc- 
trinally — not the obscure doctrines, but the great 
evangelical truths of the Christian system. He 
generally made out from three to five general 
divisions, often with a number of subdivisions 
under each. But notwithstanding the minute- 
ness of his subdivisions, he swept on through his 
subject without the least check to the current 
of emotion at first excited. His applications, 
which generally accompanied, were the natural 
outgrowth of his entire treatment. There was a 
just balance and a proper reciprocal help be- 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



285 



tween his head and his heart. While he often 
wept in his preaching, it was when the thoughts 
that filled all minds put others into the same 
mood with himself. His language was the 
simple, natural expression of his thought, and his 
action, always graceful and appropriate, was an 
unconscious enforcement of his message. It was 
the rarest thing for him to recall a word or to 
change a sentence that he had begun. He had 
the enviable ability of giving to the most elabor- 
ate preparation the character of spontaneous 
utterance. His preaching was attended by 
marked unction. Seldom was this indefinable, 
persuading, conquering, and consoling power 
absent. Most persons, in giving the peculiarity 
of his preaching, would name at once his large 
and apt use of scripture. Every point must be 
enforced by scripture, not any passage that 
seemed to have a bearing, but the passages 
most appropriate and forcible. This feature con- 
stituted much of the beauty as well as the force 
of his preaching. In his preaching there was no 
extravagance, no sensationalism, no display of 
ingenuity. He rarely introduced anecdotes by 
way of illustration. He approved their use by 
others when judiciously introduced, but the use 
of them by himself was not harmonious with his 
disposition or style of preaching. He never 



286 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXXER, 



sacrificed the dignity of the pulpit, or trampled 
upon the proper decorum of a Christian minister. 

It is not too much to say that he was recog- 
nized by persons of all degrees of culture as one 
of the grandest preachers of the gospel that our 
land has produced. Once having preached a 
dedicatory sermon, a number of ministers of 
other churches being present, a very clerical and 
able Episcopal minister became so excited over 
the grand scriptural sermon of Bishop Glossbren- 
ner that he rushed up to the pastor of the United 
Brethren congregation saying, "It is wonderful, 
wonderful indeed. Never has there been such 
preaching since the days of St. Paul. That man 
ought to be set up somewhere as a model for all 
other preachers to copy." Said a layman well 
qualified to judge: "I have heard, during my 
frequent visits to New York and Philadelphia, 
the most distinguished preachers this country can 
boast of, but Bishop Glossbrenner stood pre- 
eminently above them all, in my opinion, as a 
plain, inspiring, eloquent, and spiritual gospel 
preacher." 

He delivered, especially in later years, the same 
sermons many times, and frequently before the 
same audiences. His sermons, however, were 
always fresh, often improving in interest with 
repetition. The secret of this freshness was 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



287 



doubtless in this that he knew how to take sub- 
jects that had divinity in them. He did not 
build his sermons on conceits. The same springs 
would always yield refreshing to his own soul, 
and thus to the souls of those that heard. It 
would be perilous to most preachers to attempt 
to draw from some of the texts that furnished 
the basis for his most noted sermons. They call 
for too much knowledge of the deep things of 
God, too much of the wine of the kingdom, and 
too great a familiarity with the speech of Canaan, 
for the ordinary preacher to make them the basis 
for a sermon. 

He spoke from the standpoint of one already 
grounded in the Christian faith, and rarely laid 
his premises in the requirements of the worldly 
understanding. He was like a Matthew declaring 
to the Jews that their long looked-for Messiah 
had come; or like a John revealing to Christians 
the mysteries of the inner life and the glories of 
the saints' inheritance. What is most surprising, 
though it ought not to be so, is that from this 
exalted position he reached also most successfully 
the mind and the heart of the worldly and un- 
believing. For this world, next to an experience 
in the heart, he preached the duty and the joy of 
Christian fellowship, and for the world to come, 
the climax of his description, was reached in the 



288 



LIFE OE GLOSSBRENNER. 



portrayal of the church militant gathered into 
the presence of its divine Head. 

While he delighted in large audiences and im- 
portant occasions, he was successful much beyond 
the ordinary before a small audience. The sum- 
mer before the death of Mrs. Glossbrenner, he 
with Mrs. Glossbrenner spent some time at 
Stribbling Springs, not far from his home. He 
preached a number of times in the parlor of 
that health resort, to the great delight of the 
proprietor and his guests. His preaching carried 
an agreeable surprise to both those who were 
accustomed to hear the usual preaching of the 
day, and to those who rarely listened to sermons. 
He preached the gospel, depending on the savor 
of the gospel to interest, rather than on outside 
elements or attendant adornment. He preached 
Christ as the universal Savior and the supreme 
attraction. 

Bishop Glossbrenner never with pleasure de- 
voted himself to writing. He wrote for the 
press only when occasion required. In his private 
letters he rarely went beyond the matter in hand. 
Later in life, when it became necessary for him in 
his preaching to depend more on manuscript, he 
wrote out in full or in large part a number of 
sermons. In speaking from manuscript, while 
hampered somewhat, he yet spoke with great 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREJfEER. 



289 



effectiveness, especially for one whose earlier 
efforts were confined to extemporaneous delivery. 

Barring the aristocratic arrogance and narrow- 
ness which in the minds ot many are associated 
with the episcopal office, Bishop Glossbrenner 
was every inch a bishop. There was much of the 
churchman in him. He had clear ideas, strong- 
convictions, and noble feelings with respect to 
the church general. At the same time he dis- 
cerned in the particular church to which he 
belonged, his relations, opportunities, and obliga- 
tions as toward the general church of Christ. 
One who knew well the deep, permanent feelings 
of his life, has said that when he sung his favorite 
lines beginning, " I love thy church, 0 God," 
he sung with the full conviction that they ap- 
plied to his own particular church, and through 
the same to the church general. He often em- 
phasized the importance of keeping to the old 
landmarks, meaning the preaching of the gospel 
in its simplicity, insistence on a genuine expe- 
rience, and simplicity in worship. In doctrine he 
was thoroughly Arminian, being thus in hearty 
accord with his church. He was once asked by a 
minister of a Calvinistic church what the United 
Brethren believe. He answered "We believe what 
you preach." While he did not attach as much 
importance to outward elements as do some, he 

19 



290 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRExN'NER. 



yet had a clear conception of the genius and 
importance of the visible, organized church. He 
approached the subject, however, from the side 
of the inward, spiritual kingdom. He expected 
the conquest of the world, the triumph of sound 
doctrine, the ennoblement of character, and exem- 
plary life, primarily and most effectually through 
evangelical truth and an evangelical experience. 
He had also the instinct of law and government. 
In modifying polity or discipline he took an 
intermediate course. One who served with him 
on the board of bishops said of him : " The 
conservative tendencies of his nature would not 
allow him to be the first to embrace the new, nor 
would his sound, manly judgment suffer him to be 
the last to forsake the old. He cannot be cata- 
logued with those who believe that all wisdom 
belongs to the past." 

As an administrator of law, he was wise and 
efficient. He was well acquainted with the 
discipline of the Church and with general eccles- 
iastical usage. As a presiding officer it would be 
difficult indeed to find his superior. He always 
gave close attention to what was before the house, 
and knew what its position was. He never be- 
came confused or impatient. He sought to be 
fair and impartial. He started out from a few 
well known principles, which he kept steadily in 



LIFE OF GLOSSBRENNER. 



291 



view. He attended strictly to his own duties, 
and allowed the conference as a body, and the 
individual members to do their part. While 
never indifferent to the effect of proposed meas- 
ures, he usually suppressed his own preference 
till the conference had given its decision, and 
often then, in a few earnest and well chosen 
words, he advised as to the prudent execution of 
the purpose of the conference. Under his presi- 
dency the dignity of the body over which he 
presided was never allowed to suffer. 

"When requested by conferences to administer 
a reprimand, he scored to the line, but by loving 
admonition showed that the purpose was to 
secure amendment and not to inflict pain. 

His decisions were given with great promptness 
and rendered in the most concise and transparent 
language. They went right to the point at issue. 
He never repeated his statements, or undertook 
to argue. Once after giving a decision that was 
not exactly to the mind of Rev. John Bright, 
whom he always esteemed, the latter said, " Well, 
I will not argue with the Bishop." The Bishop 
replied, " I certainly will not argue with you." 
At one time a minister who had been guilty of 
a gross offense, persisted in an effort to obstruct 
the action of the conference. The Bishop said to 
him with emphasis, " Sit down." Some one at 



292 



LIFE OF GLOSSBREXNER, 



once moved the expulsion of the offender. The 
motion was put and carried. The Bishop then 
addressing him said, " The Church opened wide 
its door to receive you; it now opens wide its 
door to let you go out. Go ! " The ground of 
his success as a presiding officer was doubtless, to 
a great extent, his perfect self-control. He never 
abused his authority or used it beyond what was 
necessary. His course thus disarmed personal 
hostility. His authority was preeminently that 
of right, and love, and gentleness. He expected 
proper order and was firm in his positions, and 
carried a reserve of resource which it was the 
height of temerity to attempt to withstand. 

That Bishop Glossbrenner had no faults, or 
that he had no equals in particular gifts and 
graces, is by no means asserted. He was human. 
He was far from claiming infallibility for himself. 
But taken all in all, — his equanimity of tem- 
per, his rich gifts harmoniously blending, his 
persistence in a well defined course, his character 
as a man and a Christian, his eminence as a 
preacher of the cross and as a bishop in the 
church of Christ — his like has not appeared in 
the history of the Christian denominations of our 
country. Well may the church of the United 
Brethren in Christ, with whose lot he cast his 
fortunes, and whose good he continually sought, 



LIFE OF GrLOSSBRENNER. 



293 



cherish his memory, imitate his spirit, and zeal- 
ously promote the work to which he devoted his 
life. While he lived there was no fixed limit to 
his own growth and advancement. His faith, his 
hope, and the sweetness of his spirit grew even 
more rapidly and manifested themselves even 
more fully, as his years grew few. In his work 
he planted for the present and the future alike, 
and imposed no harriers to the best possibilities 
that the ages might reveal. 

This attempt to portray the life and work of 
the noble, the unwearied, the sainted Bishop 
Glossbrenner, may fittingly be concluded in the 
following language of an honored colleague on 
the board of bishops, who confessed to seeing 
everywhere the impress that he had left upon the 
Church : " In his work he was like one depositing 
the life germs of the great forest, and not tarry- 
ing for their development. His work consisted 
in depositing germs of the Christian life in the 
hearts of men and in society, and so shaping the 
current of thought in his own church as to supply 
the conditions of an almost endless development. 
Some men's work seems to be finished and to 
cease when the hand that wrought it is palsied in 
death. "Not so with Bishop Glossbrenner's work; 
his is a living something that will develop with 
the ages." 



APPENDIX. 



SERMONS AND SKETCHES. 

The Love of Christ — I Magnify Mine Office — Disputations — 
Sowing Beside All Waters — The Open Door — Pray for the 
Peace of Jerusalem — The Church — Look Upon Zion. 

Many persons who have listened to the sermons 
of Bishop Glossbrenner, and others who have not 
had that pleasure will be glad to have placed within 
their reach some of his sermons and sketches. Some 
of the sermons are considerably abridged, and none 
of them have the fuller amplification which 
attended his impassioned delivery. In some cases 
the sermons are preserved only in the abridged 
or unexpanded form. 

SERMONS. 

THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 

"That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, 
to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being 
rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend withl 
all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 
and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that! 

295 



296 



APPENDIX. 



ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him 
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or 
think, according to the power that worketh in us." Bphesians 

3: 16-20. 

Every heart should overflow with gratitude to 
Christ that a way was opened for men to speak to 
God. It is now the duty and privilege of men 
to pray. We are taught to do so by the examples in 
the Old Testament. God, after recounting what the 
people needed, said, "For all these things will I be 
inquired of." Christ said, "Seek and ye shall find, 
ask and it shall be given you." Paul said that 
men should pray everywhere, lifting up holy 
hands. This duty is so clear that we arrive at 
thef ollowing conclusion : 

It k is impossible for men to be saved unless 
they pray. They cannot be regenerated without 
prayer. They cannot maintain their holy relation 
to God without prayer and watchfulness. It is also 
our duty to pray for others as well as ourselves. 
Many are ready to admonish, but slow to pray for 
their erring brethren. Paul has left us an example 
in this. He not only labored for their conversion, 
but constantly bore them to a throne of grace, that 
they might stand fast in the faith. This we see in 
the prayer before us. This is one of the most 
spiritual prayers ever offered to a throne of grace. 
It certainly encourages us to ask most largely of our 
heavenly Father. 

I. The first great cardinal blessing asked for by 



APPENDIX. 



the apostle was strength. As Christians we need 
nothing so much as this. We are so weak that we 
can do nothing without divine strength. Strength is 
important. Physical and intellectual strength may 
be increased - by proper use. Man may be a giant in 
these regards, but without spiritual strength he will 
be a very weak man. The apostle refers here un- 
doubtedly to divine strength, because he speaks of the 
strength of the inner man, and of the Spirit of God as 
the agent by which this strength was to be communi- 
cated. Christians may become stronger in the Lord 
every day. The prophet declares that " they that 
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they 
shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run 
and not weary, and they shall walk and not faint. ^ 
The church needs more divine strength to-day. It 
may be secured by calling on the name of the Lord. 

It is true, however, that many professors become 
weaker every year, and eventually become entirely 
shorn of all their strength. Have you as much 
strength as when first converted? This you can 
determine by the fact that temptations that you 
overcame then, overcome you now. It is seen in 
your lack of courage to perform your religious 
duties as promptly now as then. Then you could 
stand up in church and out of it and declare what 
God had done for you ; now you are afraid or 
ashamed to open your mouth for God. Then you 
had power to mount up as on eagle's wings ; now 
you are struggling along in the lowland. Then you 



298 



APPENDIX. 



could make the world your servant ; now the world 
makes you its servant. In view of these things the 
apostle might well pray as he did. The Bible shows 
where saints were strengthened. See Daniel in his 
great trial. See the Hebrew children in the fiery fur- 
nace. Hear the apostle when commanded to desist 
from preaching Christ, say, "We ought to obey 
God rather than men." Hear Paul exclaim in the 
midst of his suffering, " None of these things move 
me." Why? Because Grod gave them strength 
according to their desires and needs. 

2. Another important blessing prayed for by the 
apostle was, that Christ might dwell in their hearts 
by faith. Many think it mysterious that Christ 
should dwell in the heart. It is a mystery, to be 
sure, but we rejoice that it is a reality. The apostle 
says, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Trifle 
with it or repudiate it, but know, oh man, that 
Christ dwells in the hearts of his people by faith. 
What are all your forms and ceremonies worth 
without an indwelling Christ ? Living, saving faith 
lays hold of Christ and brings him into the heart. 
The devil as a strong man keeps the palace, but 
Christ, through our faith, drives him out and takes 
up his abode there. Christ dwelling in the heart 
brings peace and joy. With all your knowledge of 
theology you may not with that alone be able to 
resist infidelity, but . with an indwelling Christ you 
may accomplish it. 

3. The third great blessing prayed for was, to 



APPENDIX. 



299 



" be able to comprehend with all saints what is the 
breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and 
to know the love of Christ." There is too much 
lingering about the shore; launch out, there is 
deeper water before you. 

(1.) Its length. Can you find the beginning of 
God's love? Look into your own heart; there you 
will find a beginning; then go back. Think of 
your good father and mother; of primitive Chris- 
tians ; of the apostles ; of the prophetic age ; of the 
patriarchal age ; back to the first great promise ; yet 
back in your mind, and you will find Jesus in the 
bosom of the Father before the world began. But 
follow his love the other way. Start again with 
your heart. You found his love when sin rolled 
from your burdened heart. Amid your trials, temp- 
tations, griefs, and woes, Jesus has stood by you and 
strengthened you. He brought you out of every trial 
as gold from the crucible. Go on till death, then 
Jesus takes you through the valley of the shadow of 
death. Follow on till your soul reaches the home of 
the blest ; there Jesus will gird himself and lead you 
to green pastures of eternal joy. 

"When you've been there ten thousand years 
Bright, shining as the sun; 
You'll have no less days to sing God's praise, 
Than when you first begun. " 

God's love is like himself. '"It is from everlasting 
to everlasting." 



300 



APPENDIX. 



(2.) Its breadth. How broad is its redeeming 
influence! It reaches every man. Broad as the 
world ! Because of this I can say, 

"Come, sinner, to the gospel feast, 
I<et every soul be Jesus' guest." 

I can proclaim everywhere that " whosoever shall call 
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." " Ho ! 
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." 
''Whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
freely." You can go where no Bible or preached 
gospel has reached, but you cannot get beyond the 
reach of the redeeming influence of the love of God. 
It spreads over immortality. Heaven is made up 
of the love of God. 

(3.) Its depth. You may see it in the redemption 
of your soul and mine from the ruin into which we 
had fallen. We were deep down in the horrible 
pit ; his great unbounded love reached down and 
lifted us up, and placed us upon the rock of eternal 
ages. It lifts the drunkard from the gutter, the 
thief and the murderer from their wretchedness 
and guilt. Aye, it reaches the worst of sinners. 

(4.) Its height. It raises us up from degradation 
most deep and fearful, to a life of happiness and 
peace on earth, and to a glorious heaven of ineffable 
love and glory beyond the earth. 

4. The fourth great blessing the apostle prayed 
for was a knowledge of his love. It is important to 
know his love in the heart. If you do, you will 



APPENDIX. 



301 



consecrate your life, your all to his service. No 
sacrifice will be too great for you to make that you 
may honor and glorify him. You will not forsake 
his house. You will keep the world under your 
feet. Christ will be " all in all " to you. At home 
or abroad, on land or on sea, among friends or foes, 
you will never forget the love of God that saved 
you, that redeemed you, that keeps you. 

May his love ever dwell richly in your hearts 
through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

THE MINISTERIAL OFFICE. 
" I magnify mine office. " Romansn : 13. 

The faithful minister of Christ will never be 
found speaking of himself in the language of osten- 
tation or self-importance. Those who have been 
most distinguished for their zeal and usefulness in 
the Christian church have had the most humble 
views of themselves, as is evident from their ex- 
pressions in regard to their felt un worthiness to fill 
so distinguished an office as that of a minister of 
Christ. Especially was this the case with the 
apostle. Distinguished as he was by his transcen- 
dent talents, his literary attainments, his ardent 
piety, his labors, privations and sufferings, and by 
his unparalleled success in preaching the gospel, yet 
he esteems himself less than the least of all saints, 
not worthy to be called an apostle. Under a deep 
sense of his own unworthiness, he was overwhelmed 
with the condescension of God in putting him in 



302 



APPENDIX. 



the ministry. And it was in view of the dignity 
and importance of the office to which he was called 
that he uttered the language of the text, "I magnify 
mine office." I glory in it, I esteem it my highest 
honor. However others may despise, or hate, or 
account the preaching of the cross as " foolishness," 
he was not ashamed of it, hut gloried in the blessed 
employment. 

I. Permit me, my brethren, to call your attention 
to the importance and dignity of the ministerial 
office. I am aware, however, that for us to speak 
of the dignity of the office may excite a smile 
among those who can see no dignity in any office 
or situation that is not connected with the pomp 
and glitter of outward appearance. Independent 
of every other consideration, that office cannot 
be mean that has been instituted to proclaim the 
plan of redemption which had its origin in the 
divine mind ; for nothing short of infinite wisdom, 
such wisdom as God alone possesses, could have 
devised such a plan of salvation as that revealed in 
the gospel. In which plan all the attributes of the 
Deity harmonize, and God can be just and the 
justifier of all who believe. To make known to a 
rebellious world this divine plan of reconciliation, 
is a work of dignity and importance. That office 
cannot be mean that the Son of God condescended 
to bear, for the word which we preach " first began 
to be spoken by the Lord," and while he sojourned 
upon earth, he was chiefly employed in the work to 



APPENDIX. 



which you are called. That office cannot be mean, 
whose end is the recovery of man to his original 
purity and happiness. 

1. The dignity and importance of the office will 
appear from the several names and titles, by which 
it is designated in the word of God. Those who bear 
the sacred office are called ministers, because they 
are the servants of God and the church ; and 
pastors, because they are called to perform the 
pastoral or shepherd's office. Christ says to them, 
Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. They are called 
bishops as having oversight. They are styled em- 
bassadors, because they are the representatives of 
the King of heaven, authorized to negotiate between 
rebels and their offended Sovereign "and in Christ's 
stead" to propose to their fellow-sinners a treaty of 
peace, written with his own hand and sealed with 
his own blood. They are called stewards of the 
mysteries of God, because intrusted with the keys 
of knowledge and discipline, and authorized to dis- 
pense divine ordinances, and to bring out of their 
treasures, things new and old. They are called 
watchmen on the walls of Zion, because they are 
to sound the alarm of danger and to watch for souls, 
as they that must give account. They are spoken 
of as angels of the churches, because they bear 
the messages of the living God to dying men. 0, 
how important is this relation ! How unspeakable 
the honor of such an office ! The honor of this 
office, however, is not that of the world. It is not 



304 



APPENDIX. 



such as worldly men either covet or appreciate. It 
consists not in external pomp, or splendor, or wealth ; 
not in dignities and titles derived from an unhal- 
lowed alliance with secular power ; nor shining in 
the circles of fashion, nor in filling uppermost seats, 
nor receiving greetings in the market, nor in being 
called Eabbi. No, the honor of the faithful minis- 
ter is of a higher and nobler kind. It consists in 
bearing a resemblance to his divine Master who 
went about doing good. The jewels which shall 
decorate his crown are souls saved by his instru- 
mentality, who shall shine as stars in his crown 
when all earthly honors shall have vanished forever. 

2. The importance of the ministerial office is 
manifest from its powerful influence on all the 
best interests of man for time and eternity. An en- 
lightened, pious, and devoted ministry such as the 
gospel requires, always has had and always must 
have the happiest influence on human society. 
Look at the world around, and you will find society 
elevated or degraded according to the ministers of 
religion. " Like priests like people " is a proverbial 
saying founded on a just observation of facts. What 
nations are most distinguished for civilization, in- 
telligence, and refinement, for domestic virtue and 
social order, and every improvement adapted to 
promote the happiness of man ? Where is knowl- 
edge most generally diffused? Where do schools, 
academies and colleges most flourish? Where are 
the liberties and the rights of man best understood 



APPENDIX. 



305 



and maintained? Precisely in those nations and 
communities where the people have been blessed 
with the labors of a faithful ministry; the effect has 
been such as might be expected from a general 
diffusion of the pure principles of the gospel. Look 
at Scotland, England, and the United States, the 
land of the Pilgrims, as contrasted with pagan na- 
tions, and with nations nominally Christian but 
destitute of an enlightened, faithful ministry, where 
ignorance is the mother of devotion, and you will 
readily see the importance of the ministerial office. 

3. But it is principally from its influence on the 
spiritual and eternal welfare of mankind, that the 
gospel ministry derives its importance. It has 
" pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to 
save them that believe." The glory of God in the 
salvation of souls, is the great, the supreme object of 
the sacred office. And who can compute the worth 
of the soul ? Endless in its existence, boundless in 
its capacity of improvement, destined to ceaseless 
progression in happiness or woe. Surely the redemp- 
tion of the soul is precious. For this the Son of 
God came down from Heaven, and expired on the 
cross. We are not redeemed with corruptible 
things, as silver and gold, but with the precious 
blood of Christ. But this redemption will avail 
only to them that believe. And how can men 
believe on him of whom they have not heard, 
"and how shall they hear without a preacher"? 
However useful and indispensable other instrumen- 

90 



APPENDIX. 



talities may be, the living teacher must necessarily 
accompany them, to give energy and action and 
direction to the whole. The employment of the 
faithful minister is one of the most delightful and 
interesting in which we can be employed. It is 
adapted to call forth into vigorous action all our 
intellectual powers, to exercise every grace and 
virtue and generous affection of the heart. Amidst 
all the difficulties, toils, privations, and sorrows 
which attend, there are pleasures which the world 
cannot give or take away. When God is pleased 
to bless the labors of a faithful minister — to pour 
out his spirit, and accompany his word with al- 
mighty power, with what intense interest does he 
witness a " shaking among the dry bones;" stubborn 
sinners pierced to the heart with the arrows of con- 
viction, crying " What must we do to be saved ? ,? 
anxious crowds thronging the way to Zion, " weep- 
ing as they go ;" and with what thrilling delight 
does he share the joy of angels over one sinner that 
repenteth. How intense is his joy when he directs 
the trembling penitent to the world's Redeemer, 
and points out to him the ability of Christ to save, 
and when the penitent looks, believes, and is saved, 
and with a countenance expressive of joy unspeak- 
able, and full of glory, exclaims : 

" My God is reconciled, 

His pardoning- voice I hear, 
He owns me for his child, 
I can no longer fear." 



APPENDIX. 



307 



At such a time how does the heart of the faithful 
minister leap for joy. and how thankful to God he 
is that he was ever thought worthy of being placed 
in the ministry. 

II. We are now to consider the corresponding 
qualifications and duties of the minister of the 
gospel. 

1. Native talent. This I mention first because 
it is fundamental. Without it you can never, by 
any process, become strong men. Neither education 
nor grace supplies constitutional defects. A man 
may have the requisite piety, and he may have been 
favored with the best facilities for extended culture; 
and yet not possess the kind or measure of native 
talent appropriate to a work so formidable and 
responsible as that of the ministry. 

2. He should be a man of practical good sense. 
Everyone is acquainted with ministers of talent, 
intelligence, and piety, whose influence is feeble and 
who can never accomplish much for Zion. because 
-of a deficiency of that indefinable, yet invaluable 
quality, denominated common sense — an element of 
character that is not quite as common as its name 
imports. Nothing is a substitute for it, or can make 
Tip for its absence. Where it is wanting, respect 
and confidence are wanting, and the man's influence 
is almost a nullity. Experience has taught the 
church some lessons upon this subject, which it is 
undesirable should be repeated, and the question, 
"^Has he good sense?" should be propounded re. 



308 



APPENDIX. 



specting every candidate for the ministry. Has he 
practical wisdom ? Is he careful, circumspect, judi- 
cious? Is he one whose footsteps may safely be 
trodden by his successors, and whose influence none 
may have occasion to deplore ? The man who dis- 
cards prudence as a superfluity, or discretion as an 
incumbrance, even under the pretence of being 
guided by the Spirit, is useful nowhere as a 
minister. 

3. Extensive knowledge. Lord Bacon said, and 
so parrot-like have said a million others, "Knowl- 
edge is power." Trite as may be the expression yet 
how true is the sentiment. It is as true in morals 
as in physics, in religion as in philosophy, in the 
minister of Christ as in the artisan or the statesman. 
We would not prescribe the measure of the knowl- 
edge necessary, nor how or where it must be 
acquired, but we hesitate not to say that other 
things being equal, the more copious the intellectual 
acquirements of the minister, the greater the ability 
to do good. Talent to be useful must be cultivated ; 
the mind must be trained and disciplined, and 
furnished with an appropriate fund of knowledge 
to be able to teach others. 

It seems to be generally admitted that literary 
attainments are desirable if not absolutely necessary 
to a minister of the gospel. There is no branch of 
knowledge which may not be useful, and there is 
much that is indispensable. Studies apparently 
most remote from theology will afford much assist- 



APPENDIX. 



309 



ance is solving difficulties in the sacred Scriptures, 
or in repelling the assaults of adversaries. He who 
would approve himself as a scribe richly furnished, 
and prepared to bring out of his treasures things 
new and old, must be, to the end of his life, a 
diligent, persevering student. 

Paul himself, though a giant in intellect, brought 
up at the feet of Gamaliel, and well versed in the 
literature of his time, did not ease from study even 
in his old age. We find him when a prisoner at 
Rome nearly at the close of his life, sending for his 
books, but especially his parchments. The apostle's 
own practice again explains his rule to embrace the 
wide field of general study. His introduction of 
heathen aphorisms in the illustration or application 
of sacred truth, proves that he apprehended no nec- 
essary debasement of its purity from an intermix- 
ture of human learning. Stephen mentions it to 
the honor, not to the discredit of the Jewish law- 
giver, that he was learned in all the wisdom of the 
Egyptians. We are taught by St. Paul's epistles 
that we may avail ourselves of every human aid to 
spread the blessings of the gospel. All these 
human aids are valuable gifts of God and only 
cease to be blessings when they are abused. It is 
true that the gospel may be preached with great 
energy by ministers possessing very inconsiderable 
literary attainments. It sometimes happens that 
the most successful ministrations are conducted by 
men of very moderate acquirements, and indeed the 



310 



APPENDIX. 



character of the gospel seems to require that in 
most cases (where the true doctrine is preached) it 
should give more honor to zeal and diligence than 
to genius and learning. But it is also true that 
God is pleased to make himself known by the use 
of cultured means, and when such means are used 
in subordination to his grace, he will honor the 
means. Let us then honor human learning. Eveiy 
branch of knowlege which a good man possesses, he 
may apply to some useful purpose. If he possessed 
the knowledge of an archangel he might apply it 
all to the advantage of man and the glory of God, 
Many of us, my brethren, who in the early years of 
our ministry were deprived of a literary training, 
owe a mighty debt of gratitude to human learning 
for a translation of the Bible, which otherwise 
would have been to us a sealed book, a dead letter 
in an unknown tongue. Are we not indebted to the 
same source for the explanation of its difficulties, 
and for many powerful defenses of its authority, 
which enables us to meet with at least some degree 
of success the assaults of the enemies of the gospel, 
and to give an intelligent reason for the hope that is 
within us ? 

" Give attendance to reading," " Study to show 
thyself approved unto God," is the advice given by 
the apostle. To whom ? To a novice, or a young 
man just converted? No, but to a convert of 
many years standing, who had been blessed from 
his childhood with an excellent spiritual education, 



APPENDIX. 



311 



who was endowed with good natural talents and spir- 
itual gifts, and favored with pre-eminent religious 
advantages under the apostle's personal tuition, and 
whose early elevation in the church showed a satis- 
factory improvement of his privileges. Such advice 
given to an elder under such circumstances, and in 
an age of inspiration, carries with it the weight of 
authority, and should serve as a rebuke for negli- 
gence under our comparative disadvantages. 

Brethren, look out upon the fields of science and 
theology spread out before you for exploration and 
occupancy, and apply yourselves to the acquisition 
of all the knowledge you can attain to fit you for 
the great work of saving souls and building up 
the church of God. " But remember after all that 
the Bible should be considered your principal text- 
book, and should be carefully read and studied, that 
you may bring from its rich treasures the precious 
truths of life, and from its crystal fountains the 
waters of salvation, with which to irrigate and 
fertilize the heritage of the Lord." If there ever was 
a time when the ministers of the gospel should be 
like Apollos " mighty in the Scriptures," and thus 
be able to stand up in the defense of the plain, the 
pure and unadulterated doctrines of the Christian 
religion, it is now. 

Infidelity is not dead, it is alive and active, but 
masked. It is no less hostile to the pure doctrines 
of the gospel now than heretofore, but has simply 
changed its mode of attack. It even subscribes to 



312 



APPENDIX. 



the Christian scriptures, but puts an entirely new 
gloss upon them, and by philosophizing would 
make them teach another religion — a religion un- 
known to the apostles, the fathers, and church 
general. There is also latitudinarian liberalism 
which is in fact treason against the truth, which is 
characteristic of the present age. It is seen in this 
country, it is seen in Europe. It permeates our jour- 
nalism, our politics, our theology. It is more dan- 
gerous and more mischievous than open infidelity. 
It smiles with fawning obsequiousness on all, and 
frowns on none but the man who contends ear- 
nestly "for the faith which was once delivered unto 
the saints." In proportion as men recede from 
" sound doctrine," they sap the very foundation of 
personal godliness, lower the tone of morality, and 
enfeeble the exercise of Christian benevolence. 
This liberalism, as it is called, is advocated by some 
of the most popular teachers of our day, encouraged 
by some of the most extensively circulated and 
popular journals of the country. A religion, there- 
fore, must rise under these last touchings and 
finishings of art, where infidels may be received 
into the church without conversion, or where 
they may be converted with scarcely a perceptible 
change in doctrine, heart, or life ; where the thought- 
less, and the gay, and the beautiful, and the 
dissipated, may float together down the stream, to 
the sound of music, and drink the Lethean cup, 
and wake not till in perdition they are heard to 



APPENDIX. 



313 



exclaim, " I am tormented in this flame." Breth- 
ren, ''let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,' 1 for 
it is the "two edged word," the word of the living 
God, which being accompanied by the Holy Spirit 
can overcome the influences exerted by these open 
and secret enemies of the truth. 

4. Another qualification is piety. For the lack 
of this, no talents, however j brilliant or attractive, 
can compensate. It is expected that he who would 
engage in the holy work of the ministry, be a 
Christian, that he have for himself and furnish 
to others the most satisfactory evidence of a spirit- 
ual union with the Savior. If serious doubts 
exist on this point, whether in his own mind or in 
the minds of others, his ability to do good will be 
essentially crippled. Let the man therefore who 
would be a minister, ask this question as the ante- 
cedent of every other inquiry — Am I a Christian ? 
Without " the washing of regeneration and re- 
newing of the Holy Ghost," how can the man 
discharge the great duties of the pastoral office ? I 
speak not here of this great and essential change 
merely as a personal concern of the deepest interest, 
nor of the meanness and drudgery and wickedness 
of hypocritical services, nor of the dreadful condi- 
tion of that man, who after preaching to others, 
shall himself be a castaway forever. I speak of 
it as a qualification for the ministerial office. With- 
out this, how can he speak or act for God; how 
feel for the glory of Christ, or take a lively interest 



314 



APPENDIX. 



in the salvation of souls ? Can he be concerned for 
the salvation of others, who neglects his own ? How 
difficult as well as dreadful to preach an unknown 
Savior! He may study and understand the doc- 
trines of religion as a theory. He may defend 
the truth against its adversaries. He may expound 
the Scriptures as a biblical critic. He may make 
a display in the pulpit "as one who has a pleasant 
voice, and can play well upon an instrument.' 1 
But how can he preach with interest, truths which 
he does not practically believe, or urge motives he 
does not feel ? How shall he direct the anxious, 
the inquiring soul ? How feed the sheep and the 
lambs ? How comfort others with the consolations 
whereof he is not himself comforted? Nor is it 
enough for a minister to be a man of piety ; he 
ought to be a man of fervent piety — burning with 
zeal for his Master, " full of faith and of the Holy 
Ghost." The tone of piety in the church will 
usually accord with that of the minister. There 
cannot be a greater curse to the church and to 
society than a lifeless, ungodly ministry. Wherever 
it is found, a blighting and withering influence 
attends it. 

How many and sad are the lessons taught us by 
the history of the church as to the great evils 
arising from an unconverted ministry. How 
sadly the Jewish church suffered from false proph- 
ets. It was an unconverted apostle that betrayed 
the Lord of glory. For how many years were the 



APPENDIX. 



315 



boasted successors of the apostles the vilest of men. 
And how even now in Europe the lowest infidelity 
is decked in the robes of the ministry. In Eng- 
land, the merest worldlings, because second or 
subsequent sons of the gentry, are promoted to 
church benefices, and in our own country in com- 
munions regarded as evangelical, an unsanctified 
ministry often proves a curse to the people among 
whom they mingle. "Be ye clean that bear the 
vessels of the Lord." " Be blameless and harmless, 
the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a 
crooked and perverse nation." Be "ensamples to 
the flock," of which the Holy Ghost may make 
you overseers. Be patterns of good works. How 
important the caution of the apostle. Take heed to 
yourselves, to thyself, for how awful is it to appear 
as a minister without being a Christian. How diffi- 
cult, how dreadful to preach an unknown Christ. 

Baxter remarks, " Verily it is a dreadful calamity 
for the church to have unregenerate and inconsist- 
ent pastors ; and to have men to become preachers 
before they become Christians, and to be sanctified 
by dedication at the altar as God's ministers before 
they are sanctified by hearty dedication to Christ as 
his disciples, and so to worship an unknown God, 
and to preach an unknown Christ, an unknown 
Spirit, an unknown holiness and communion with 
God, and a peace that is unknown and likely to be 
unknown forever. Surely he is likely to be a heart- 
less preacher that has not the Christ and grace that 



316 



APPENDIX. 



he preaches to others in his own heart." Remember 
you are ministers of a holy God. You hold in your 
hand a holy revelation. Give no offense in any- 
thing, that the ministry be not blamed. Abstain 
not only from that which is positively evil, but 
" from all appearance of evil." A minister should 
be as Csesar wished his wife to be — above suspicion. 
This, my brethren, is an awfully important thought 
— that the minister for the want of experimental 
and practical holiness may lose his soul after all 
his labors. He may indeed occupy the place of a 
minister, and perhaps do some good in the world 
and yet be destitute of piety. God may restrain him 
from overt sins, his religious education and enlight- 
ened conscience, his habits of application, and his 
intellectual orthodoxy may accomplish something 
toward supplying deficiencies of imparted grace ; his 
attainments as a scholar and his power over the 
minds of men as a teacher may render his work 
somewhat pleasant, while his pride of character, if 
he be a hypocrite, and his false hopes if he be a self- 
deluded man, may give buoyancy to his mind 
which shall induce him to fulfill his ministry to 
the last. Yet all the while he may live and die an 
ungodly man. His church may mourn over him 
when he sleeps in the dust, his fellow-laborers in 
the work of God may stand around his grave and 
say, Alas, my brother ! and many an honest pane- 
gyric may be uttered in commendation of his 
literary attainments and his brilliancy as a pulpit 



APPENDIX. 



317 



orator, while he himself is lifting his eyes in hell, 
being in torment. He has appeared in the presence 
of his Judge and uttered that last plea of a ground- 
less hope, "Have I not prophesied in thy name?" 
but he has received the final answer, " Depart from 
me, I never knew you." If we should weep while we 
thus speak, perhaps there are those who would not 
sympathize Avith us. Yet who would not weep? 
0, is there one of all the race of Adam more to be 
pitied than such a minister ? With all its dregs 
of woe, he must drain the bitter cup of agony, and 
taste all the bitterness of death. He perhaps saved 
others, himself he did not save. He who wept over 
Jerusalem, I am sure, were he on earth, would weep 
over such a man. Could angels weep, they would 
flood the pulpit of such a minister with tears. None, 
none but the veriest devils could be indifferent to 
such a doom. Yet there have been and are such 
ministers. 0, that we might be more faithful to 
our own souls ; that we might be more faithful to 
one another, love one another more, and pray for 
one another, lest we come to that place of torment. 
It is a sacred office which the embassador of the 
cross holds; but there is nothing in it which will 
save from hell if we be destitute of experimental 
and practical piety. 

III. The duties of the ministerial office. 

1. To preach. For this you have been called, 
qualified, and sent forth. What should you preach ? 
" Preach the word." God says, " Preach the preach- 



318 



APPENDIX. 



ing I bid thee." Preach the unsearchable riches 
of Christ, not the husks of old speculations and 
arid dogmas; not the chaff of human philosophy, 
fluttering its brief hour amid the changing winds 
of opinion ; not the debris of outward forms and 
vain superstitions, gathered from the dust of the 
dark ages ; but the simple gospel of Christ, quick- 
ened by the breath of the Almighty, and lodged as a 
living power in throbbing human hearts. This is 
what each man " dead in trespasses and sins" needs. 
This is what the world, hoary with guilt, needs for 
its renovation. In the Bible there is knowledge for 
the head, experience for the heart, and a rule of 
practice for the life. 

2. How preach the word? Preach faithfully, 
zealously, patiently, perseveringly, seriously, and 
affectionately. 

My brethren, in conclusion, let me add that in 
order to be successful in your work, there must be 
the exercise of strong faith. Upon this principle, 
as an element of moral influence, the Savior, when 
teaching his disciples, constantly insisted, and he 
availed himself of every fitting occasion to summon 
it into lively exercise. If opportunity offered for 
the relief of suffering by miracle, he proposed to 
them the inquiry, a Believe ye that I am able to do 
this ?" When the disciples failing in their attempts 
to expel a demon, asked him to explain the cause of 
their failure, he simply replied, " Because of your 
unbelief." And how strongly did he assure them of 



APPENDIX. 



319 



the wonders they should perform if they only had 
faith like a grain of mustard seed. " All things 
are possible to him that belie veth." He who be- 
lieves anything can be done is generally the man to 
do it ; for his faith calls forth his latent energies and 
enables him to achieve results which, without faith, 
would be impracticable. In all the camp of Saul 
there was not a veteran who could safely have en- 
countered the champion of the Philistines, for not a 
man of the host had faith in God sufficient to brace 
up his courage and nerve his right arm for the con- 
flict. Such faith was found only in the youthful 
shepherd, and as he believed, so he proceeded. His 
confidence lifted him above the fear of peril that 
made the sternest warriors quake, and called forth 
his inward energies to one sublime effort, and the 
headless trunk of his mighty antagonist soon lay 
stretched in the valley which had rung with his 
boastings. See the triumphs of faith as presented 
in the epistle to the Hebrews. Paul knew by what 
he had seen and felt that faith gives to the mind 
nerve, steadiness, and onward force. "This is 
the victory that overcometh the world, even our 
faith." A timid child in company with his father, 
as long as he feels the warm pressure of the paternal 
hand, will walk confidently through pathless 
forests or on the brink of a precipice. So the minis- 
ter of Christ with simple reliance upon the promises 
of God, will press his way through difficulties and 
dangers most appalling, and will triumphantly ex- 



320 



APPENDIX. 



claim, " I will fear no evil : for thou art with me." 
What could the first preachers of Christianity have 
accomplished without it ? What but confidence in 
their Master's promise and presence could have 
given them such heroic boldness, such indomitable 
courage, such unfaltering perseverance, such power 
of endurance ? Sustained by it they did and suffered 
what impostors could never have done or suffered. 
They were men that hazarded their lives for the 
name of the Lord Jesus. " Lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world," was their unfailing 
support. This unfaltering faith in the divine prom- 
ises made them strong, so that with great power gave 
they witness, and thrones trembled, idols were cast 
down, and truth and holiness were welcomed by 
liberated thousands. Faith is the link which 
connects the impotence of the creature with the 
omnipotence of Jehovah, so that the creature is en- 
couraged to attempt the greatest things, even though 
conscious of personal inability to do the least things. 
Faith lays hold of a strong Christ, and lying low 
and looking high the minister declares, " When I 
am weak then am I strong." Thus allied to the 
mighty he is endued with power, and he can meet 
unmoved the shock of* any trial. For as Arch- 
bishop Leighton says, the firmest thing in this 
world is a believing soul, and he can execute any 
service, however difficult. It is faith that enables 
him to say, "I can do all things through Christ who 
strengtheneth me." 



APPENDIX. 



321 



' O, for a faith that will not shrink, 

Though pressed by every foe, 
That will not tremble on the brink 

Of any earthly woe, 
That will not murmur nor complain 

Beneath the chastening rod, 
But in the hour of grief or pain 

Will lean upon its God." 

DISPUTES AMONG CHRISTIANS. 

[Preached by Bishop Glossbrenner before the General Con- 
ference convened at Dayton, Ohio, May 15, 1873.] 

"What was it that ye disputed among yourselves?" Mark 9 133. 

Brethren, members of the General Conference, 
representatives of the United Brethren in Christ : 
If we address you to-day with the same plainness 
of speech which we are accustomed to use when 
addressing the laity, Ave trust you will receive what 
we shall say as coming from one who has no other 
end in view but the glory of God and the peace and 
prosperity of that branch of God's zion which we 
to-day represent. 

/The Apostle Paul speaks of easily besetting sin. 
What he refers to may be the sin of our constitu- 
tion, the sin of our trade ; that in which our worldly 
honor, secular profits, and sensual gratifications are 
most frequently felt and consulted. The minister of 
Christ is not an exception to the general rule ; and 
we trust you will not be startled at the declaration 
that spiritual ambition is the besetting sin of the 
ministerial profession. It is not meant that the laity 
are free from the vice which we have designated 
21 



822 



APPENDIX. 



as especially besetting the ministry, for there are in 
many congregations laymen who are often more 
anxious for their own consequence than for the 
prosperity of the church ; more proud of what they 
have done for the church than humble in view of 
their sins; more concerned for their own glory than 
for the glory of God. Nor do we mean to imply that 
the evangelical clergy of our day and land are worse 
than the clergy of other ages and of other climes, 
nor that they are inferior in holiness of heart and life 
to the people to whom they minister, for we seriously 
doubt whether there ever was in any age, on the 
whole, a body of ministers superior to the Protestant 
clergy of our country. Yet our proposition is true. 
The politician is exposed to one kind of temptation, 
the merchant to another, the man of leisure to a 
third, and the poor laborer has his grievous besetting 
sin. But the fearful temptation, the besetting sin of 
the ministerial profession, we believe is spiritual 
ambition. 

The profession of a minister secures him to a con- 
siderable extent from the danger of many of the 
coarser and more animal sins. I know there are some 
terrible examples in every branch of the Christian 
church, which have made the lovers of Zion sick at 
heart, showing that the coarsest and vilest sins may 
for a time be covered by the mantle of hypocrisy in 
the ministry. But the disgust and anguish with 
which the grieved church expels them from her 
bosom shows that such sins are felt to be unnatural, 



APPENDIX. 



323 



even monstrous. When such cases occur we shudder, 
and ask the question, Are these gross acts of im- 
morality common among the ministry? Bitter 
tears fall from the eyes of God's children over a 
desecration so awful ; and we almost feel as though 
the days of demoniacal possession had returned, and 
God had allowed Satan in triumph to plunge his 
victims in the festering sloughs of pollution. 
Xo, no ; God is merciful. The ministry as a class 
have not so far fallen. These are not the besetting 
sins of the ministry. Such degradation only exists 
among the ministry, as a rule, in those lands where 
doctrine is first debased ; where truth falls in the 
streets, and people and priests are sunk together in 
gross moral pollution; where darkness worse than 
Egyptian broods over the entire land, and every 
department of society bears witness that the " whole 
head is. sick and the whole heart faint." 

The minister in America occupies in many re- 
spects a sheltered position. He is girt around 
by a wholesome moral sentiment. The virtues 
of his predecessors and his contemporaries in office 
have created an impression that he ought to be 
a man of God in moral character, in exclusive 
devotion to the duties of his office, in purity, in 
zeal, in charity, in kindness. And we bless God 
that it is so. Yet, my brethren, it is true that 
he may be exempt from the terrible sins which 
would bring disgrace upon himself and sorrow 
to his brethren, and yet not be free from the sin 



324 



APPENDIX. 



of spiritual ambition, and rush upon the avenues 
that are still open. No eye of man is upon the 
heart, no mind is privy to its secret musings. To 
rise in the church, to gain extensive influence, to 
control ecclesiastical judicatories, to attain high 
literary distinction, to become the center of admir- 
ing assemblies, — these are all within the minister's 
grasp without an action which perhaps would ever 
be known to be contrary to his Christian profession. 
The tempter may whisper, low at first and then 
louder, that talents such as he possesses are too much 
confined in obscurity. And in foolish and wicked 
musings like these he wastes the time his Savior has 
given him to work in, forgetting that he has placed 
him in an appropriate position, and will say, with- 
out the necessity of any writhings and struggles of 
vanity, when the time arrives, " Friend, come up 
higher." 

"This propensity to spiritual ambition is strength- 
ened by the minister's studies. All literature is full 
of it. Even Christian literature is full of it. You 
hear it in sermons. It lurks in commentaries. In 
all other literature it appears without measure and 
without stint." " The volumes that occupy those 
shelves in your study, and that look down upon 
you from day to day, till they have become your 
cherished friends and companions, venerable for 
their piety, instructive for their information, amus- 
ing for their wit, half worshiped for their lofty 
intellect, almost every one contains this poison ; 



APPENDIX. 325 

almost every one feeds your ambition and fosters 
vour pride. Only one is entirely free — pure in pro- 
portion to its greatness, humbling in proportion to its 
unapproachable elevation — that is the Bible." This 
sin, spiritual ambition, appears to have been the evil 
for which the Savior called his disciples to account. 

I. That we must all expect to be called to an 
account by our divine Master. 

1. We are all now professedly in the way, follow- 
ing Christ as our teacher, our example, our guide. 
Here we are upon trial ; this is our probation ; and 
it concerns us therefore that what we have to do we 
should do while in the way, and so do it that at 
the end we may be approved by the Master. 

2. There will be a review of what occurs in the 
way, for " God shall bring every work into judgment, 
with every secret thing, whether it be good or 
whether it be evil." All will be produced as evi- 
dence for or against us. 

3. The account must be given to our Lord Jesus, 
for we call him Master and Lord as the disciples did ; 
and to him we are accountable as scholars and ser- 
vants, how we spend our time. He is our judge, for 
" The Lord is our lawgiver," and to him the Father 
hath committed all judgment. For "he will judge 
the world in righteousness by that man whom he 
hath ordained." 

Now this is a good reason — 

1. Why we should judge ourselves and prove our 
own work, and see that our matters be right and 
good against that day. 



326 



APPENDIX. 



2. It is a good reason why we should not judge 
one another, or be severe in our censures one of 
another. We thereby invade Christ's throne, for it 
is his prerogative to call his disciples to an account ; 
and though he designed them to be one another's 
helpers, he never intended they should be one 
another's judges. "We shall all stand before the 
judgment seat of Christ," and therefore must not 
judge one another. "Who art thou that judgest 
another man's servant ? to his own master he 
standeth or falleth." Each one of us must give an 
account of himself to God. 

II. Among other things that we must give an 
account of is, what we have talked among ourselves. 
We are apt to make a light matter of this, as 
though words were too insignificant to be taken 
notice of by Him who is to be our judge, forgetting 
his saying, "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and 
by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Sometimes 
when we have talked at random what comes upper- 
most without regard to God or man, we think to turn 
it off with an excuse that it was but talk, and "words 
are but wind;" but we wretchedly mistake, and 
terribly cheat ourselves if that be true which our 
Savior said — and true undoubtedly it is — that not 
only for every profane and wicked word, for every 
false and spiteful word, but for " every idle word 
that men shall speak," they must give account in 
the day of judgment. Nay, and so shall their doom 
be according as they have talked while in the way. 



APPENDIX. 



327 



Christ does take notice of our words ; and we should 
speak while here as his ministers, representing as 
we do a portion of his beloved Zion, as though we 
heard him saying to us as he said to the two 
disciples going to Emmaus, " What manner of 
communications are these that ye have one to 
another?" Should we not be very careful, my 
brethren, that our speech be always " with grace, 
seasoned with salt," that it may be "good to the 
use of edifying, that it may minister grace " to those 
who hear us ? We should be careful that we do 
not say that which must be unsaid by repentance. 
What we talk among ourselves with the usual 
freedom of conversation, we do not expect to 
hear again, and we allow ourselves great liberty. 
Remember, there are tale-bearers and mischief- 
makers who take pleasure in revealing what von 
have said, and thus stir up strife and contention ; 
but whether it is thus called up by tale-bearers or 
not, it will not escape the cognizance or judgment 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we talk anything that 
is good among ourselves to the use of edifying, 
Christ takes notice of that, and we shall hear of 
it again to our comfort in that day when those who 
thus confess Christ before men shall be owned by 
him, before his Father and his holy angels. When 
those " that feared the Lord spoke often one to 
another " for their mutual comfort and encourage- 
ment to hold fast to their integrity in a time of 
general apostasy, the Lord hearkened and heard it, 



328 



APPENDIX. 



and " a book of remembrance was written" for them, 
in which were entered all those pious conferences of 
them that " feared the Lord and that thought upon 
his name ;" and the day will come when that book 
will be opened. There is not a good word coming 
from a good heart, and directed to a good end, but it 
is heard in secret and shall be rewarded openly, 
even though there may be those who now ridicule 
such a thought. 

If we talk anything that is ill among ourselves ; 
if " any evil communication "' proceeds out of our 
mouths, calculated to corrupt the mind and man- 
ners of others, Christ observes that too, and will 
manifest his displeasure, and we shall hear of it 
again, either by the checks of our own consciences 
in order to our repentance, or at the day of " the 
revelation of the righteous judgment of God," when 
according to Enoch's prophecy, the Lord will come 
to reckon with sinners, not only for all their un- 
godly deeds, but for all their hard speeches. It 
will be asked sooner or later what you said in 
such a company, proudly, vainly, filthily; why 
you gave yourselves to foolish talking and jesting, 
when your words should have been "like apples 
of gold in pictures of silver;" what it was that 
you said in the general convocation of your 
ministerial brethren when you sat deliberately, sat 
magisterially, and spoke against your brother whose 
good name you should have protected. Think, my 
brethren, that a bird of the air may carry what you 



APPENDIX. 



329 



have said to the ears of some who you hoped 
would never hear your uncharitable and unkind 
speech. 

Let this consideration oblige us all to take heed 
to our ways, that we offend not with our tongue, 
and to keep our mouth as it were with a bridle, 
that we may say nothing but what we can bear to be 
told of again. And we have need to beg of God 
that by his grace he would set a watch before the 
door of our lips, a double watch upon the door of 
our hearts, out of which the mouth speaks, that 
nothing may proceed from them to his dishonor. 

III. As our other discourses by the way will 
have to be accounted for, so especially will we be 
called to account for our disputes among ourselves. 
We are not to infer from the language of Christ 
that all disputation is sinful. Neither are we to 
infer that disputation always results in evil, or is 
unprofitable. The Savior himself declared that he 
was about his Father's business, when he had 
been in the temple, in the midst of the doctors, 
hearing them and asking them questions. The 
ministry of our Lord, in one sense, was a perpetual 
controversy. St. Paul's epistles are, most of them, 
controversial. The apostles came at truth by "much 
disputing" among themselves, (Acts 15:7), and 
they convinced both Jews and Gentiles by disputing 
with both. (Acts 17 : 17 ; 19 : 8.) There are disputes 
that are of use and are profitable, and should be 
encouraged, and for which we shall have no cause to 



330 



APPENDIX. 



be ashamed when we shall be called to account by 
the Lord Jesus Christ. 

If we dispute for the convincing of atheists and 
deists, and other enemies of our holy religion, or 
for the confirmation of those who were in danger of 
being led astray by their delusions ; if we c; earnestly 
contend for the faith which was once delivered unto 
the saints," and with meekness and fear both in- 
struct others that " oppose themselves," and give a 
reason for our own hope that is in us ; if we fairly 
and calmly discuss lesser matters between us and 
our brethren, that we may find out the truth, and 
have our mistakes rectified, or if Ave cannot thereby 
come to be of the same mind, that yet we may see 
that even those we differ from may have so much 
color of reason on their side as that they may still 
differ from us and yet not forfeit their reputation 
either for wisdom or piety ; if we, with prudence and 
mildness, debate our cause with our brother himself, 
and go not forth hastily to strife ; if we tell him his 
fault between us and him alone, before we tell it to 
the world or to the church, in order to a friendly 
accommodation, — these are disputes which will pass 
well in the account, when they come to be called 
over again. 

Our disputes, however, are too often such that 
when we come to be asked about them, as the dis- 
ciples were, we shall, like them, be ashamed and 
hold our peace, and be sorry to have them called up 
again ; and have nothing to say in our own vindica- 



APPENDIX. 



331 



tion, and, as it was with the Ephesian assembly, 
when we are called in question we can show no 
cause whereby we may justify ourselves. This will 
be the case : 

1. When our disputes are conducted in a bad or 
unchristian temper. Let us keep the full possession 
and government of our own spirits, in all our dis- 
putes. Let us carefully suppress all inward tumults, 
whatever provocation may be given us. The liberty 
to dispute is not the liberty to reproach and perse- 
cute those who differ from us. Bigotry and persecu- 
tion are not the children of light, but of darkness. 
Our very enemies, who are in a state of ignorance 
and error, demand our pity and prayers. And the 
one even who has injured us, we are commanded 
to forgive, and to " heap coals of fire on his head,' 1 
— not to consume him, but to melt him down into 
kindness and peace. As to different parties who 
profess the same religion, nothing can be more in- 
compatible with the spirit of the gospel than to deal 
in invective and reproach. Yet alas ! how much is 
it the case, that when others do not agree with us in 
everything we think, we feel at liberty to indulge 
in severity. 

What was said of Salmasius may be said of 
some contracted, bigoted people : " They seem 
to have erected their throne on a heap of stones, 
that they may have them at hand to throw them 
at at everyone that passes by." But is this the 
spirit of the gospel ? What must we say of the 



332 



APPENDIX. 



man who in his disputes is governed by a spirit so 
contrary to the spirit of our Master? Is he a 
follower of the Lamb ? How is it, then, that he is so 
much like a lion ? Does he profess to imbibe the 
meek and lowly spirit of Jesus? How is it, then, 
that he is as morose and fierce as a winter's day ? Does 
he call himself sound in the faith, and yet trample 
on the law of love ? My brethren, let the spirit of 
kindness be exhibited in all your disputations. 
And while men are no more made to feel alike than 
to look alike, still the minister should be " of good 
behavior,'' — "no striker," " not a brawler." "He 
must have a good report of them who are without ;" 
he must "be patient;" "in meekness instructing 
them that oppose themselves." There are times when 
he must without flinching contend for the faith ; 
when he must call " damnable delusions " by their 
right names, and rebuke sharply the enemies of 
gospel morality ; but he must speak the truth in 
love, in order to show that he is influenced by 
the spirit of Christ in all he says. " A bad temper 
is a bad thing anywhere, but it is especially out of 
place in the ministry. A minister that gets drunk 
with passion often does more harm than one who 
gets drunk with wine. A man of commanding 
talents with high passions and a malignant temper 
is no blessing to any people. He may be pious in a 
modified sense, so as to be saved by fire, but if a 
minister, he is a minister not of the spirit, but of 
the letter of our religion." 



APPENDIX. 



333 



Sir Henry Wolton so disliked angry disputation, 
that he ordered the following inscription to be put 
on his monument : 

"Here lies the first author of this sentence — 
The itch of disputation is the bane of the church; 
Seek his name elsewhere." 

In the early days of the Reformation, when dis- 
putation ran high, Philip Melancthon being on his 
way to a conference at Spire, called to see his 
mother. This good woman asked him what she 
must believe amidst so much angry disputation, and 
repeated to him her prayers, which he found con- 
tained nothing superstitious. " Go on mother," 
said he, " to believe and pray as you have done, and 
never trouble yourself about religious controversies." 
It is said of this great and good man, that he longed 
for death for two reasons : 1. That he might enjoy 
the much-desired sight and presence of Christ and 
the heavenly church; and, 2. That he might be 
freed from the cruel and implacable discord of 
divines. Even Luther, who was no small contro- 
versialist and who did not always, as I think, 
exhibit the sweetest temper, used to pray in the 
following manner : " From a vainglorious doctor, a 
contentious pastor, and nice questions, the Lord 
deliver his church." " The following little parable 
or story," says Bishop Patrick, " I have somewhere 
met with out of Anselm : There were two men, 
says he, who, a little before the sun was up fell 



APPENDIX. 



into a very earnest dispute concerning that part of 
the heavens wherein that glorious body was to rise 
that day. In this controversy they suffered them- 
selves to be so far engaged that at last they fell 
together by the ears, and ceased not their buffetings 
till they had beaten out each other's eyes ; and so it 
came to pass that when, a little after, the sun did 
show his face, neither of these doughty champions 
could discern one jot." So it is often with angry 
disputants. 

2. But our disputes are often such as we may be 
justly ashamed of, on account of the matter of them. 
What was it that we disputed among ourselves? 
Perhaps it was something above us, some secret 
thing that belongs to God, and which even angels 
desire in vain to look into ; things which we did not 
and could not understand; things about which it 
was presumptuous for us to dispute. Perhaps it was 
{something below us, not worth disputing about, 
especially with so much warmth and violence. Per- 
haps it was but a trifle, a mere strife of words, a 
thing of no value, as if we only wanted something to 
wrangle about ; so inconsiderable a thing that, no 
matter how decided, the costs are much more than 
the damage. In the reflection, we may justly blush 
to think that we should make so much ado, so great a 
noise about nothing. Perhaps it was something- 
foreign to us, that we were in no wise concerned in. 
Our Lord, after his resurrection, twice checked his 
disciples for vain curiosity, once in inquiring con- 



APPENDIX. 



335 



cerning another's affairs, when Peter asked concern- 
ing John, " What shall this man do ?" Christ 
answered him, "What is that to thee? follow thou 
me ;" and at another time in inquiring concerning 
God's counsels : " It is not for you to know the 
times or the seasons." 

A young minister once asked an aged divine 
whether a Roman Catholic could be saved. " You 
may be saved," said the aged minister, " without 
knowing that." 

A certain one asked the Savior, " Lord, are there 
few that be saved ?" Our Lord answered and said, 
" Strive to enter in at the strait gate." 

Perhaps it was something indifferent, like the 
controversy among the primitive Christians con- 
cerning the observance of days, and making a dis- 
tinction of meats, which the apostle himself does 
not undertake to decide, but leaves each side to 
proceed according to their own judgment, without 
imposing their practice upon the rest, since they 
might be of either mind and be accepted of God ; 
only he forbids them to fall out about it, or to 
despise or judge one another. 

If we would not be ashamed when we are called 
to account by our Lord, let us never lose the charity 
we ought to have for our brethren who may differ 
from us, nor violate the sacred law of love. Our 
Lord foresaw and foretold that the preaching of the 
gospel would occasion much division ; that it would 
set men at variance, and be the subject of much dis- 



336 



APPENDIX. 



pute ; and therefore he thought it very requisite to 
hind the command of mutual love the more strongly 
upon his followers. Because there was danger lest 
love should he lost in these disputes, he makes it one 
of the fundamental laws of his kingdom. The " new 
commandment " was that we love one another. Love 
is the badge of his family, by which all men may 
know who are his disciples. See how true Christians 
love one another. Let us, therefore, in all our dis- 
putes keep ourselves under the commanding power 
and influence of holy love ; for that victory is dearly 
bought which is obtained at the expense of Chris- 
tian charity. Let us manifest jxroper regard for our 
opposers, and not trample upon any, nor set those 
" among the dogs of our flock," whom, for aught we 
know, Christ has set with the lambs of his. Let us 
never bring a "railing accusation" against any. 
Michael, the archangel, though he was sure he was 
in the right — and the glory of God was nearly con- 
cerned ; and it was with the devil he contended — 
would not thus attack his adversary. The scourge 
of the tongue has driven more out of the temple 
than it ever drove into it. Let us always put the 
best construction on our brethren's words and 
actions that they will bear, not " digging up mis- 
chief" as evil men do, nor " rejoicing in iniquity," 
but "rejoicing in the truth," hoping the best as far 
as we can. 

Let us not aggravate matters in variance, nor by 
strained innuendoes and misrepresentations make 



APPENDIX. 



337 



either side worse than it is ; for that is a method 
which may harden one side but can never convince 
the other, nor can it be used with any other design 
than to make the contending parties hate one 
another; and whose kingdom that serves the inter- 
ests of, it is easy to say — not Christ's, I am sure. 
Let us not judge our brethren and decide upon their 
spiritual and eternal state and pronounce on them 
an anathema because they are not in everything of 
our mind, or cannot in every particular fall in with 
our measures. They who do so usurp a divine pre- 
rogative, take the " keys of hell and death " out of 
the hands of Christ, and show themselves to be as 
destitute of the fear of God as they are of love to 
their neighbor. 

Let us often think of the account we must shortly 
render to our Master, of all our disputes with our 
fellow-servants by the way. Let us consider how 
our disputes will look at that day, and what our 
reflections will be upon them. 

When the apostle asks, " Where is the disputer 
of this world ?" " Perhaps," says the excellent 
Archbishop Tillotson, " he here intends to insinuate 
that the wrangling work of disputation hath place 
only in this world, and upon this earth, where there 
is only dust to be raised, but will have no place in 
the other, where all things will be clear and past 
dispute. And a good man would be loath to be taken 
out of this world reeking hot from a sharp conten- 
tion with a perverse adversary, especially if that 
22 



388 



APPENDIX. 



adversary be a brother, and not a little out of coun- 
tenance to find himself in this temper translated 
into the calm and peaceful regions of the blessed, 
where nothing but perfect charity and good will 
reign forever." Again let me advise you, my breth- 
ren, to cultivate a true love for all that love our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; but never permit your Christian 
liberality to degenerate into that indifference which 
regards all principles alike. Men who regard all 
principles alike have no principles of their own, 
and are not to he trusted. Principles are important, 
but they need to be adorned by - the graces of the 
Spirit to render them attractive. 

IV. Of all disputes, Christ will be sure to call us 
to account for our disputes about precedence and 
superiority. This was the dispute here ; " Who shall 
be the greatest?" Alas, how soon did this spirit of 
ambition manifest itself among the disciples. On 
one occasion the mother of James and John, insti- 
gated no doubt by them, asked of Christ that these 
her sons might sit, the one on his right hand, and 
the other on his left, in his kingdom. And here we 
find them again disputing "who shall be the 
greatest." Christ does not determine the matter as 
it might justly be expected he would have done, if 
he had intended Peter or any other of them should 
have a primacy and supremacy above the rest. No ; 
he is displeased with them for starting such a ques- 
tion, and disputing about it, because it was an indi- 
cation that they aimed at being great in the world 



APPENDIX. 



3-39 



and were ambitious of it ; and wherever preferments 
were to be had, they would quarrel among them- 
selves which should get the best. Over and above 
the meanness of their first education, when they 
were bred as fishermen, which might have done 
something to curb aspiring thoughts, and the good- 
ness of their late education, when they were trained 
up to be apostles, which might have done much 
more, there are several reasons why this desire for 
preferment was very displeasing to our Lord and 
Master. 

1. Because it came from a mistaken notion of 
his kingdom, which they had learned at the feet of 
their scribes, and had not yet unlearned, though 
they had sat so long at Christ's feet — so hard is it to 
conquer the power of prejudice. They still expected 
that he would exercise a temporal jurisdiction, that 
he would break the Roman yoke from off their necks, 
establish a temporal kingdom, and exalt them to 
places of dignity and honor. This was a great mis- 
take, and the constant tenor of Christ's life and doc- 
trine might have convinced them that it was so ; 
that his kingdom was not of this world, but was 
intended to be spiritual — the laws and powers of it, 
the rewards and punishments of it, all spiritual; 
that he was to rule by his spirit in the spirit of his 
subjects. He taught them that the design of his 
kingdom was to refine men from the dross and 
dregs of worldliness and sensuality, and to raise 
them up to a holy, heavenly, spiritual, divine life, 



340 



APPENDIX. 



and to teach them to look down upon all earthly 
things with a lofty contempt. Such was the nature 
of Christ's kingdom, and therefore it could not but 
be displeasing to him for them to covet earthly 
greatness. 

2. He was displeased with them because the 
spirit of ambition they manifested was contrary to 
the two great lessons of his school and laws of his 
kingdom — humilit}^ and love. It is against the 
law of humility to desire to be the greatest, and 
against the law of love to striye or dispute who 
shall be greatest. Had not Christ taught them both 
these lessons by precept and example ? Had he not 
made it the first condition of discipleship, that who- 
soever would come after him must deny himself? 
Does not the great law of love oblige us in honor 
to prefer one another? What unapt scholars, then, 
were they who had not learned such plain and 
needful lessons as these ! How well for us that we 
have a kind Master who does not expel us from 
the school as dull scholars, but gives us his Spirit to 
open our understanding, and bring things to our 
remembrance. 

3. He was displeased because it was repugnant 
to the example which he had set them, and the copy 
he had given them to follow. The word of command 
which the Master gave them was, "Follow me;'' 
do as you see me do. But when they were disputing 
who should be greatest, and each aiming at pomp 
and power, they were far from resembling him, 



APPENDIX. 



341 



"who was among them as one that served," and 
" came not to be ministered unto but to minister." 

4. Another reason why the Savior was dis- 
pleased, was because he saw that spiritual ambition 
would be, more than anything else, the bane of the 
church in after times ; would be the reproach of its 
ministers, an obstruction to its enlargement, the dis- 
turber of its peace, and the origin of all the breaches 
that would be made upon its order and unity. 
" If," says a clear and forcible writer, " we would see 
the results of spiritual ambition in its general 
effects upon the church and the world, let us go 
back and see the fearful results of this terrible sin 
in that system which culminated in the tenth cen- 
tury, when it had worked out its results in plunging 
the world into the midnight of the dark ages. . . . 
The man who tampers with or encourages this 
spirit is no wiser than he would be who should 
gaze into the basilisk's eyes, linger under the upas 
tree, put forth his hand admiringly to feeL the 
texture of the smooth tiger's skin, speculate scien- 
tifically amid the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
ness, and sport with the lightnings of heaven." 

Ambition is a terrible serpent within the soul. 
Some of its most hateful companions are envy and 
jealousy — the meanest, most hateful, and painful of 
passions. Envy leads to " evil surmisings." If the 
envious man can find nothing against his brethren, 
he will surmise there is something. If he can find 
nothing in their actions to judge, he will judge their 



342 



APPENDIX. 



hearts. If there is nothing visible, he thinks there 
is something secret ; and from thinking there may 
be something, he will judge it is very likely there is 
something, and from likely there is, he will conclude 
there is, that "surely there is some plot working." 
Says Henry: "If our ambition tempts us to envy 
others and seek their downfall that we may occupy 
their positions, it would help very much to keep 
down this passion if we would consider how many 
there are above whom we are placed. Instead of 
fretting because they are preferred before us in honor, 
power, gifts, graces, or usefulness, we have reason to 
bless God if we, who are less than the least, are not 
put hindmost." " Beware of envy,*' for envy is the 
" rottenness of the bones." 

Jealousies exist in families, among men of busi- 
ness, among politicians, lawyers, physicians, among 
men of science; and this spirit of jealousy, mean 
and hateful as it is, exists in the heart of the spirit- 
ually ambitious minister, greatly to his discomfort 
and to the circumscribing of his usefulness. I 
believe that the ministers of the gospel, as a class, 
are the best men on earth ; but with less envy and 
jealousy of one another, they would be vastly im- 
proved. 

Ambition leaves marks upon the countenance 
and in the life. A man need not try to hide his 
character. He may succeed for a time, but it is like 
hiding "the ointment of his right hand, which 
bewrayeth itself." Character is well denned by 



APPENDIX. 



343 



Bishop Butler to be " that whole frame of mind by 
which one man acts differently from another." The 
spiritually ambitious minister shows his character 
like other men : and all Christians know it to be 
utterly inconsistent with his profession ; and the 
gradual loss of the confidence of the best and wisest 
follows. 

The plans of the ambitious man often fail, because 
God orders and disposes all things. Now when one 
has not been unduly anxious about a matter, and 
has cordially left it to God, he can easily bear dis- 
appointment ; but when he has set his heart on a 
case, has plotted, and contrived, and sinned to gain 
it, the disappointment goes to his heart like a 
dagger. 

Finally, my brethren, let us not strive who shall 
be the greatest, or who shall have the highest prefer- 
ment, or who shall be most honored, but acquiesce 
in the lot Providence carves out for us, not aiming 
at great things or striving for them. Let us strive 
who shall be best, not who has been best — that is a vain- 
glorious strife — and humbly contend who shall be 
most humble and stoop the lowest for the good of 
others, and who shall labor most for the peace, 
purity, and prosperity of the church. This is a 
gracious strife — a strife that will pass well in our 
account when all our disputes shall be reviewed. If 
we covet, let us "covet earnestly the best gifts'' — 
covet to be " rich in faith and good works."' If we 
will be ambitious, let it be our highest ambition 



344 



APPENDIX. 



to do good, and therein to be accepted of the Lord. 
If we will aim to excel, let it be in that which is 
virtuous and praiseworthy, and in a holy zeal for 
the honor of God and the advancement of the true 
interests of Christ's kingdom. Let us, then, go 
before in zeal, and yet be willing to come behind 
in humility and self-denial; do better than others, 
and yet, in love and lowliness esteem others better 
than ourselves. 

Especially let us strive to excel ourselves, and do 
more good than we have done. And when we 
remember the blessings of our youth, and the love 
of our espousals, instead of leaving that first love, 
and cooling in it, let our advanced years contend 
earnestly to excel our early ones, that our last days 
may be our best days, and our last works our best 
works. 

My brethren, let us all look for a fresh baptism of 
the Holy Ghost. After the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost on the day of Pentecost, we do not find the 
disciples contending who should be greatest, but we 
find them submitting themselves to poverty, labor, 
persecutions, and to death itself, that they might 
win souls to Christ. And if the Holy Spirit is 
poured out upon us while we are here as the repre- 
sentatives of Christ and his church, our conversa- 
tion and our disputes will be such as will bear 
inspection when the Master shall call us to account. 

Let us gird on the armor afresh, and fight val- 
iantly for the right. Our Church must grow or die. 



APPENDIX. 



345 



There is much to he done by us for the spread of 
gospel truth. Therefore for our Church's sake, for 
the sake of perishing souls, for the sake of our 
beloved country, for the sake of Him dearer to 
us than all besides — our crucified Savior — let us 
maintain purity in doctrine, purity in the ministry, 
purity in the membership, purity in discipline ; 
then, and only then, may we expect permanent 
prosperity. 

Above all things, my brethren, a have fervent 
charity among yourselves. 1 ' And now, brethren, 
" I commend you to God, and to the word of his 
grace, which is able to build you up " and cause you 
to abound in every good word and work to the 
praise of his glorious name. Amen. 

SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. 
" Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." — Isa. 32: 20. 

I. What are we to sow ? We reply briefly, and 
at once, in the words of Christ, the " good seed " of 
the kingdom ; that is, the seed of eternal truth, the 
truth as it is in Christ, the truth which is accord- 
ing to godliness, or in other words, the doctrines, 
privileges and practices of Christianity as revealed 
in the gospel of Christ. It is this seed which taking- 
root in the soil of the human heart, shall grow up 
and bring forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and 
some a hundred fold. Not everything bearing the 
semblance of the divine will ripen unto immortality. 
No seed which is of human invention is capable of 



346 



APPENDIX. 



producing a result so stupendous and beautiful. It 
is the simple, but omnipotent truth of God, given 
us in Christ and made vital by the Holy Spirit. 
" Descending from heaven as a power it ascends 
thither as a growth." " For as the rain cometh 
down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not 
thither but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring 
forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, 
and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that 
goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall not return 
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I 
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto 
I sent it." 

What the world needs is not the husks of old 
speculations and dogmas. All this is not sufficient 
to rescue a world sunken in iniquity, to holiness, 
happiness, and to God. Neither is it sufficient that 
lectures and well written essays on moral reform be 
scattered like leaves of autumn among the people. 
What is necessary is the simple gospel of Christ, 
quickened by the breath of the Almighty, and 
lodged as a living power in throbbing human hearts. 
This is what each man dead in trespasses and in 
sin needs. This is what the world hoary with guilt 
needs for its renovation. Gospel truth as a miracle 
of grace, as a life-giving seed must be sown in its 
fullness among all people for a witness. God's word 
is perfect, converting the soul, while the statutes of 
the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The gospel 
is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel is 



APPENDIX. 



347 



the two-edged sword which alone can pierce even to 
the dividing asnnder of soul and spirit, and of the 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 
and intents of the heart. The word of truth, the 
gospel of our salvation, is not in word only, but 
in power and in demonstration of the Holy Ghost 
and in much assurance, thus commending itself to 
every man's conscience in the sight of God. In this 
word of truth is that knowledge which makes men 
wise unto salvation : that experience that satisfies 
the heart, and presents to us Christ as our pattern, 
whose mind we should imbibe and whose example 
we should follow. Oh, that the heart of the Church 
and of its entire ministry might be impressed with 
this great truth, so that we may cease from strife, 
and from questions that tend to no profit, and that 
we may turn our entire energies to spreading 
the knowledge of the truth to the ends of the earth. 
God's truth is the great rectifier of all error and of 
all evils. This alone purifies the heart. Hence the 
prayer, '" Sanctify them through thy truth : thy 
word is truth." All other reformations are but 
partial and apparent, like the skin drawn over the 
cancerous sore, while its fiery roots are spreading 
within. 

This divine seed, by its holy power, produces a 
radical, a total change ; it forms us new crea- 
tures in Christ, and makes us partakers of the divine 
nature. The members of the body and the faculties 
of the soul are alike affected by its blessed influence. 



348 



APPENDIX. 



Those eyes that were once evil and full of adultery, 
are now turned to Heaven with pious adoration, or 
gushing with tears of penitence for sin. That heart, 
that once was a cage of unclean "birds, is now the 
temple of God. When the heart is opened as was 
the heart of Lydia for the reception of this divine 
seed, and the seed germinates, the obstinate becomes 
mild; the self-willed, submissive; the careless, 
thoughtful * and the dissolute, holy. 

This is proved by the testimony of example. Yea. 
I am addressing some who can bear witness, and 
glory in the thought that they are trophies of this 
power, and who stand in the church as monuments 
of the word of grace. I might mention some who 
were, like the Corinthians, the slaves of sin, and say, 
•"Such were some of you'- but ye are washed, 
but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the 
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our 
God.*' 

II. Who are the sowers ? Some of the sowers 
stand in the porch, some around the altars, some in 
very obscure corners ; but the duty of all Christians 
is to hold up and to hold forth the word of truth. 
Think not that this noble work is confined to the 
pulpit. It is true that God in his wisdom does call 
men and set them apart as sowers of the precious 
seed, and whose life business it is to cry. 0 ! earth, 
earth, hear the word of the Lord. But all Christians 
should be co-workers and fellow-helpers in the truth. 
It is one of the devices of hell to forbid all but the 



APPENDIX. 



349 



regularly authorized ministers to tell sinners around 
them the way of life. 

The Sabbath-school teacher is a sower of precious 
seed, and if he feels as he should feel the responsibil- 
ity resting upon him, he will say, Come unto me, 
ye children, and I will teach you the fear of the 
Lord. 

The pious, though obscure, mother with her chil- 
dren grouped around her, with the Bible upon her 
knee, instructing them in the way of life, is a sower, 
and the seed thus sown with tears and prayers will 
not be in vain. The friend who deals faithfully 
with the soul of his friend, the young men banded 
together for works of benevolence and mercy, — these, 
no less than the minister, are co-workers with God 
and are holding forth the words of life. You may 
be poor and obscure, and hold no rank in the 
church ; but may not a private in the army fight as 
valiantly for his country as the officer that com- 
mands? May he not die fighting for the colors 
which he may not carry ? If it is not his business 
to train recruits he may enlist them. To this 
work of sowing divine seed and enlisting recruits 
for Christ, the gospel calls all who are looking to the 
cross for salvation. " The Spirit and the bride say, 
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come." The 
Master hath need of the active service of all his 
servants. Multitudes in our most highly favored 
places are dying in their sins ; and though every 
minister were a flaming fire, and every preacher a 



350 



APPENDIX. 



Whitfield they could not overtake the work before 
them. No person should be considered converted 
unless so converted as to take a living, loving 
interest in the conversion of others. 

III. Our next inquiry is, where shall we sow ? 
" The field is the world." " Go ye into all the world, 
and preach the gospel to every creature." " This 
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 
world for a witness unto all nations." All men 
everywhere need the gospel. Men everywhere are 
depraved. All have sprung from the man whose 
guilty fall corrupts his race and taints us all. The 
unchanged hearts of men everywhere are deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked. Men are 
not only depraved, but all have sinned and come 
short of the glory of God. All who do not receive 
Christ by faith are in a state of condemnation and 
are under the curse, for the wrath of God abideth 
upon them. But how can men believe on him of 
whom they have not heard, and how can they hear 
without a preacher ? Hence the necessity of sowing 
the seed of the kingdom everywhere; at home and 
abroad, in civilized and in heathen lands, in cities 
and villages, in the valleys and upon the moun- 
tains, among the rich and poor, high and lowly. All 
need the gospel, and we, like the apostles, should go 
everywhere preaching the word, and as all men 
everywhere need salvation from the pollution of sin, 
and need deliverance from its guilt and condemna 
tion, we should rejoice to be permitted to say : 



APPENDIX. 



351 



"Come all the world, 
Come sinner thou, 
All things in Christ are ready now." 

Sow everywhere; for unlike all other religions, 
Christianity is adapted to universality. Every- 
where, in all soils, in all climates, the seed of the 
kingdom germinates and grows. We are to sow 
everywhere, because the Master commands it. 

IV. How should we sow ? 

1. Liberally. Like Carey, we are to expect great 
things from God. " We must attempt great things 
for God." The Lord loves a cheerful giver; so he 
loves a cheerful and liberal sower. He that sows 
sparingly will reap sparingly. " Freely ye have re- 
ceived, freely give." He that withholdeth the bread 
from the hungry deserves the curse. 

2. Sow with decision of character. True great- 
ness and extended usefulness in any department of 
life depend largely upon this. But especially is 
this true of the sowers of this precious seed. A 
double-minded man is unstable in all his ways, 
and he who is turned from his course by every 
wind of opposition can never expect to reap a 
golden harvest, or achieve anything for the Master. 
Paul, Knox, Luther, Otterbein, Wesley, wrought 
through their character as well as by their words. 

3. Sow in faith. "All things are possible to him 
that believeth." "According to your faith, be it unto 
you." This nerves the soul to deeds of noble 
daring. Witness David in the camp of Saul. This 



352 



APPENDIX. 



is the principle that connects the impotence of 
the creature with the omnipotence of God. " This 
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our 
faith." Have faith in the inspired account of 
man's moral condition. Believe what God has 
promised. My brethren, unbelief makes God a 
liar, poisons the source of Christian confidence, 
cuts the nerves of all spiritual exertion, tends to 
discouragement and despondency. It is the little- 
ness of our faith that makes us dwarfs, cowards, and 
narrow-minded in our conceptions of duty. 

4. Sow with prayer that God may accompany 
the seed sown b} T his Holy Spirit. The blessedness 
of such a course is manifold. The trusting are 
blessed in heart. It is the industrious worker that 
is happy. The idler and pleasure seeker are the 
unhappy ones. What is your experience? The 
laborer who is in the field at early morn plowing on 
the mountain side, or scattering the golden seed in 
the fruitful valley, has no time to be wretched. 

5. Sow in hope also. In the sphere of religion 
it often happens that the sower becomes also the 
reaper. Oh, what glorious sheaves are gathered 
even now in the field of toil! How many expe- 
rience the fulfillment of the promise, " He that goeth 
forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall 
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his 
sheaves with him" ? At the close of life's weary day 
the sower has wept tears of joy as he gazes upon 
the fair harvest waving before his eyes. He sees 



APPENDIX 



353 



only the pittance which has been spared from the 
expense of a wanton ostentation. As long as avari- 
cious Christians shall so extend their plans of busi- 
ness with the increase of their capital as to always 
be straitened in the midst of their gains — and as 
long as parents shall labor to amass wealth for their 
offspring only to paralyze their enterprise, and cor- 
rupt their morals, and insure their ruin — so long the 
corrupt cause of God on earth must move slowly. 
There is this day in the Church of the United 
Brethren in Christ, in the hands of her member- 
ship, capital enough to more than quadruple the 
number of our missionaries now in the field, and 
without the retrenchment of a single comfort neces- 
sary to their happiness or the welfare of their 
children. Is there a Christian here who cannot for 
the year to come double the amount of his benev- 
olence? Is there one who will not now purpose 
in his heart to do it ? Brethren, the time is short in 
which we have opportunity to express our boundless 
obligations to the Savior. The fashion of the world 
passeth away. Next year our tongues may be 
employed in celestial praises and our substance be 
in other hands. What remains, then, but that this 
day we dedicate ourselves and all we have anew to 
him who washed us in his blood ? The missionary 
enterprise to which we pledge ourselves this day 
may tell quickly in the very heart of Satan's empire 
and cause light to spring up in the retreats of deep- 
est darkness. 



354 



APPENDIX. 



V. I close by noticing the blessedness of those 
who are sowing the precious seed, and of those who 
are sustaining them in their work of faith and labor 
of love. There is a three-fold blessedness. There is 
a blessedness in the heart. The industrious and 
self-sacrificing worker is a happy man. The lover 
of himself and the world is the unhappy man. 
AVhat is your experience, my brother? Are you 
now industriously sowing this precious seed ? If so 
you are happy. A blessedness is experienced in the 
work itself — a work in which angels might delight 
to share — and in the sympathy and gratitude of 
others, and likewise in the hope of the harvest to 
come. Oh ! what glorious sheaves are gathered even 
now in the fields of toil ! "He that goeth forth and 
weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come 
again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
him." Often at the close of life's weary day the 
sower has wept tears of joy as he has gazed upon 
the fair harvest waving before his eyes. He sees 
sowers who have been brought to Christ through 
his labors. He sees that the wilderness and the 
solitary place are made glad and that the desert 
rejoices and blossoms as the rose. 

Who can describe the thrill of joy that passed 
through the frame of the dying Boardman, when 
borne upon a litter he gazed upon the Karen con- 
verts going down to the river to be baptized in the 
name of Jesus ? The death of Gordon Hall far from 
kindred and home was like the coronation of a king. 



APPENDIX. 



355 



His last words were a sort of triumphal shout : 
"Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy 
Ghost." 

And what shall I say of the last harvest, the final 
coming and kingdom of the Lord, when the proper 
reward of the sower and the fruit of his toil shall 
be revealed ? " The harvest is the end of the world, 
and the reapers are the angels," and the sheaves, 
unnumbered myriads of glorified spirits. For "the 
ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion 
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads : 
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and 
sighing shall flee away." Then the sea shall give up 
the dead that are in it. The silent wilderness and 
solitary graveyard among the mountains, and the 
lone mission field shall give up the dead that are 
in them. They shall come, myriads upon myriads, 
from all lands and from all seas, beautiful as angels 
and crowned with glory. For the seed of God has 
ripened, and the last field is reaped. Earth's weary 
sowers are there ; but oh, how changed, how glorified, 
as they mingle with the happy throng ascending 
the shining way chanting with angels the song of 
the harvest home. In loud anthems they sing, 
Worthy is the Lamb to receive honor and glory 
and blessing. 

Lo, these are they, the Lord's sowers; blessed 
reapers now. Yonder is Luther with his Germans, 
singing Gloria in Excelsis. There is Calvin chanting 
the amazing grace of God. Wesley strikes his harp 



356 



APPENDIX. 



and mercy's free rings out on the air. Otterbein, 
Geeting, and Newcomer are there at the head of a 
great host — their spiritual children. Yonder is 
Carey with his Hindoos. There is Judson with his 
Burmans, glorious now as angels of God. Stretch- 
ing far away among the shining ones you discover 
dear friends, long missed on earth now glorified in 
heaven. Oh, yes, my brethren, some who were fel- 
low-laborers with you here are now standing there. 
Tears, anguish, death, are all forgotten, swallowed 
up in the joy of harvest. Happy sowers; happy 
reapers! "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." 
Onward, right onward, ye men of God, sowing seed 
beside all waters. Faint not, in due season you 
shall reap. Standing before you as your bishop on 
this holy day, permit me to say that after nearly a 
half century in this good work, my present feeling 
is, Let my eye-sight decay, let my body bow down 
with the weight of years, let my gray hairs and 
trembling limbs admonish me that soon I shall 
lie down in the grave ; but while I live let me still 
have a place among those sowing the gospel seed. 
I have a hope, a blessed hope that I with you, shall 
reap in joy. 

THE CHURCH'S OPEN DOOR. 

[Delivered in the United Brethren Church in Germantown, 
Ohio, upon the anniversary of the Board of Missions, Sabbath 
morning, May 4, 1884..] 

Text: "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no 
man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept 
my word, and hast not denied my name. 1 ' — Revelation 3 : 8. 



APPENDIX. 



357 



This figurative language is of the easiest inter- 
pretation, and may be thus explained: I have 
placed in your way every means and privilege and 
opportunity of becoming fully acquainted with, 
and profiting by my gospel, which is able to make 
you wise unto salvation ; and I am determined there 
shall be no effectual opposition or hindrance to 
prevent its full effect. But it has a still further 
important meaning. I have placed before you 
every possible facility for propagating the gospel. 
You yourselves have it in its purity and there shall 
be no hindrance to your spreading it abroad. I 
have set you before a door opened ; go forward in 
your work. That this is the decided meaning of 
the language in the text will be perfectly apparent 
by a comparison of this language with that 
used in other parts of the sacred volume. I am 
anxious, my brethren, that this subject should be 
well fixed in your minds, because it is my purpose 
to adapt it to a practical use of vital interest to you 
in your character as Christians and ministers. Let 
us then see the meaning of these terms as elsewhere 
used. 

When Paul is giving a reason for his remain- 
ing in Ephesus as late as the feast of Pentecost, 
instead of going immediately to Corinth, he says, 
" For a great door and effectual is opened unto 
me;" that is, as no one can doubt, he found so 
many prepared to receive the gospel, and God 
had been pleased to grant him such success among 



358 



APPENDIX. 



thein that he was determined to stay a little longer. 
hoi3ing to be able to win more to Christ. The fact 
of the history shows that a great door had been 
opened for the establishing of a most flourishing 
church at Ephesus. Again, in the second epistle to 
the Corinthians, giving some further reasons why 
he could not come to Corinth as soon as they 
desired, he said. " When I came to Troas to preach 
Christ's gospel, ... a door was opened unto me of 
the Lord.'' In his epistle to the Colossians he exhorts 
his beloved brethren to continue in prayer and 
thanksgiving, and makes it a particular request that 
in their supplications the}* would pray both for him 
and his fellow-laborers that a door of utterance 
might be given them to speak the mystery of 
Christ ; that is, that they themselves might be 
enabled to open their mouths boldly in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and find the way prepared 
into the hearts of their hearers for the entrance of 
the word of life. Peter represents the Lord as 
having opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 
When our Lord Jesus Christ represents himself as 
taking in his omnipotent hand the key which is to 
open the door of the gospel, and when he declares 
that he openeth, and no man shutteth, it is equiva- 
lent to the declaration that he either has removed or 
will remove every obstacle which may obstruct the 
progress and triumph of evangelical truth. It 
appears to be in consideration of their faith and 
purity of doctrine that he had seen fit graciously to 



APPENDIX. 



359 



bestow these blessings on the church at Philadel- 
phia. " I know thy works. Behold, I have set 
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it : 
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my 
word, and hast not denied my name." I find it is 
the opinion of some commentators that a slight 
censure is couched under these terms, as if from 
their opportunities they ought to have a great deal 
of strength instead of a little. This opinion is by 
no means satisfactory, and does not agree with the 
general tenor of the commendation ; for it requires 
more than a little spiritual strength to keep the 
word of Christ and not to deny his name, especially 
in circumstances of peril and of death. I am fully 
inclined to the belief that the term "little strength" 
here used, applies more particularly to the civil and 
political circumstances of the church and city, 
and means that they had very little wealth or 
political influence, and consequently no very great 
means of accomplishing the object set before 
them. But this view gives a very important 
emphasis to the whole. Thus you Christians have 
kept my word and have not denied my name. You 
must learn, and you must spread abroad the gospel. 
But I know the condition of your church, by provi- 
dential circumstances. You have no great wealth, 
or influence, or political power. You have but 
little strength, but be not discouraged, for I will 
compensate, and more than compensate, for all these 
disadvantages under which you labor. Go on 



360 



APPENDIX. 



zealously and persevering! v, for I have set before 
} r ou an open door, and no man can shut it. These, 
brethren, are the particulars, so far as they are 
immediately connected with the church at Phila- 
delphia, But as whatsoever was written aforetime 
was written for our learning, I feel particularly 
anxious that a subject of so much importance 
should be brought to a more decided practical bear- 
ing on our own circumstances and conditions as a 
preliminary step to the practical deductions I 
would draw. I would observe that it is the prerog- 
ative of the Lord Jesus Christ to remove obstacles 
out of the way of the spread of the gospel. 

The progress of the gospel in the world has 
always had to contend with violent opposition irom 
without. The kings of the earth stand up, and the 
rulers take counsel together against the Lord and 
his anointed. Superstition has sometimes col- 
lected its devotees into one malicious group to 
assail the servants of God with their ignorant 
clamor and their vile persecutions. Sometimes the 
regal scepter, sometimes the sacerdotal robe, some- 
times the voice of senates, and sometimes the force 
of arms and the terrors of death have been lifted up 
against the progress of the gospel. To use the 
figurative language and the facts of Jewish history, 
as employed by another to illustrate this thought, — 
"Many a mountain has risen up to check the 
progress of Zerubbabel, many a Pharaoh has been 
determined to prevent the increasing population of 



APPENDIX. 



861 



Israel, many a Rabshakeh has insulted and blas- 
phemed the name of God at the very walls of 
Jerusalem, many a Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and 
fury has committed the Shadrachs, Meshachs, and 
Abednegos who were determined to resist idolatry, 
to be cast into a burning fiery furnace." And many 
a Herocl, when he bathed his sword in the blood of 
James, has proceeded to take Peter also as a victim 
to his wrath. But, my brethren, the hearts of kings 
are in the Lord's hands. Their lives are at his dis- 
posal, their decrees are subject to his control, and all 
their powers are dependent upon him. Therefore 
lie can open a door for the preaching of the gospel, 
and no man can shut it. And notwithstanding the 
power of monarchs, the policy of the priesthood, 
the pride of philosophy, the abuse of the vulgar, the 
ranting of infidels, and the terror of martyrdom in 
its most distressing forms, Jesus Christ has kept 
open the door for the transcendent triumph of his 
own truth. So it has been, so it is, and so may 
it ever be ; for whosoever shall oppose the progress 
of the gospel in any of its forms shall be anathema 
maranatha, for he loves not the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

But the fact to which I would more particularly 
call your attention, and which is most intimately 
connected with my text, is the fact that the Lord 
Jesus Christ has to us, as a people, opened a wide 
door for the dissemination of the gospel. This is a 
fact of which a doubt cannot be entertained. We, 



362 



APPENDIX. 



as a nation, have by our commercial relations 
intercourse direct or indirect with every portion of 
the habitable globe. Our ships are familiar with 
every sea, and their sails whiten every port, far or 
near, which the enterprise of man has yet dis- 
covered. Our adventurous citizens are found in 
every clime, from the frozen to the torrid zone. 
They have followed the Indian track through the 
forests, and they have climbed the great mountain 
summits, while their eyes have rested on the un- 
ruffled waters of the Pacific. God has further set 
before the people of this nation an open door in 
that he has given them a sufficiency of wealth to 
enable them to spare largely to carry on the great 
work of evangelizing the world. Therefore I say 
Christ has set before the American people an open 
door by giving them enough and to spare. He has 
set before us an open door because the great machin- 
ery is already in motion. The Bible cause, the 
missionary cause, and the tract and the Sunday- 
school cause are all so many mighty engines by 
which his kingdom is to be advanced in the world. 
This being the fact, the resulting obligation is that 
to us to whom this great door of opportunity is 
opened, there must be no backwardness in discharg- 
ing the duty God expects and requires. And let me 
tell you, brethren, disregard it or not, as you please, 
if one individual among you to whom God has 
given the least opportunity to do good, refuses, for 
such refusal he will be accountable to the Judge of 



APPENDIX. 



363 



all men, and may hear from his lips. You knew 
your duty, and you did it not. 

I. You may improve this open door by your 
prayers. God has declared himself a prayer-hearing 
and a prayer-answering God. For what should we 
pray ? 

Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit ; for it 
is not by might nor by power, humanly speaking, 
that the great work of missions is to be carried on 
successfully, but by the Spirit, saith the Lord. The 
rain is not more necessary to moisten the seed, the 
sun is not more necessary to bring it to maturity. 
Hence, I would observe, prayer appears to be of the 
utmost importance in connection with every attempt 
for the conversion of heathen nations. It will be 
found that in proportion as Christians are earnest in 
their supplications for others their devotions will be 
profitable to their own souls. Our bosoms warm 
and expand in praying for our fellow-creatures. 
This is not vain speculation, but the voice of expe- 
rience. The best and happiest Christians are those 
who pray and labor most for the conversion of 
sinners. Prayer for ourselves is never so acceptable 
to God as when accompanied with intercession for 
others — prayer in the closet, prayer on those occa- 
sions when we meet to consult as to the best plans 
of operation. It was while the church at Antioch 
Avas praying and waiting on the Lord and fasting 
that the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas 
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 



364 



APPENDIX. 



them." As the Spirit descended on the day of Pente- 
cost it appears that in every age of the world prayer, 
a spirit of prayer, for this great object has been the 
precursor of real success. Never is a mission more 
likely to prosper than when it is begun in the spirit 
of earnest prayer for the accompanying influence of 
the Holy Spirit : and if ever this Spirit departs from 
us "the glory has departed" from our mission work. 
God help us pray believingly and without ceasing 
for the power of the Holy Spirit to render all means 
which may be employed for the conversion of men 
effectual. It is "not by might nor by power," but 
by the spirit, that means are attended with a saving 
energy. 

Had we millions of the most learned, eloquent, 
and holy preachers in Christendom to send forth, and 
all the funds that could be asked or desired for this 
enterprise in which we are engaged, all would- be in 
vain unless the power of the almighty Spirit accom- 
pany our labors. While, therefore, we labor with 
unwavering perseverance for the conversion of the 
world, while we raise funds with growing liberality, 
while we select, instruct, and send forth the most 
devoted missionaries we can rind, and while we 
employ all the means in our power for imparting 
the gospel to every creature, let us remember that all 
will be unavailing unless the Holy Spirit accom- 
pany and give energy to the means employed. He 
that planteth is nothing, he that watereth is 
nothing, but God that giveth the increase. Oh. it 



APPENDIX. 



365 



is sweet to the believing heart to lean on God, to 
plead his promises, and to rejoice in the assurance 
that though man cannot succeed by reason of his 
weakness, He with whom all things are possible, and 
who cannot lie, has promised that the Avhole earth 
shall be filled with his glory, and that he is able and 
faithful to give success. In earnest prayer for the 
Holy Spirit's influence everyone can unite; and 
every tear in the closet, every prayer in the heart 
over those who are dead in their sin, every prayer 
lifted up in retirement where no eye sees but the 
eye of Him who seeth in secret, affords a most 
important means of entering within the open door 
of opportunity. 

In this great age of Christian effort it may be said 
that no prayer is complete unless it embraces in its 
heart-speaking language the immortal interests of 
our fellow-men ; and that a man's religion may well 
be doubted, even though he goes regularly upon his 
knees before the throne of grace, if he stints and 
stifles his petitions within the miserable and con- 
tracted compass of his own bosom. Oh, with what 
fervor did the holy men of old pray for the progress 
of the gospel of God. "Awake! awake! put on 
strength, O arm of the Lord!" was the prayer of 
Isaiah. Awake as in the ancient days, in the gener- 
ations of old. 

Within later years Christians have been much 
more alive to the importance of this duty; and one 
of the holiest alliances which was ever made was 



366 



APPENDIX. 



that alliance of intercession which for several years 
has brought thousands of Christians once in each 
month to kneel before the mercy-seat of heaven to 
supplicate with God for the cause of missions. 
There is amazing grandeur in the idea that in Asia, 
in Europe, in America, and, no doubt, also in Africa, 
thousands of voices are lifted up with one consent, 
which for Zion's sake will not hold their peace, 
and for Jerusalem's sake will not rest "until the 
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness and the 
salvation thereof as a lamp that burnetii." I am 
constrained to believe that the success of missionary 
labor in recent years at home and abroad has been 
given to us as an answer to the prayers of those 
many thousands who have made the cause of Christ 
the subject of their special petitions. 

II. An open door is set before us to be entered 
through personal exertion. 

Brethren, the very purpose for which the benefits 
of Christianity have been brought to you is that 
you should not live unto yourselves, but unto Him 
who died and rose again ; it is said in another 
place that none of us liveth to himself. There is 
not a man or a woman in any congregation making 
a part of the Church of the United Brethren in 
Christ, but has influence over others ; and there is 
not one but could bring some accession to the cause 
of Christ, and thus come to " ; the help of the Lord 
against the mighty." Time was, my brethren, when 
the Israelites were captives to Jabin, king of Canaan ; 



APPENDIX. 



367 



but by the word of the Lord they were aroused to 
assert their liberty, and under the prophetic direc- 
tion of Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth, they were 
called to throw off the ignominious yoke. The 
tribes of Reuben, of Asher, and of Dan, more distant 
from the immediate scenes of oppression, refused to 
leave their homes to assist their, afflicted brethren. 
The battle was fought without them, and without 
them was the victory won. When the victors 
returned they raised the voice of triumph ; and as 
the tide of inspiration rolled along, thus sang Deb- 
orah, " Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, 
when the people willingly offered themselves." She 
then recapitulates the tribes who thus offered them- 
selves to the cause of God ; but when she comes to 
mention the tribes of Reuben, Dan, and Asher she 
breaks into the mournful strain, Reuben, why 
abodest thou among the sheep-folds to hear the bleat- 
ing of the flocks ? Dan, why didst thou remain in 
the ships? Asher, why continued thou on the 
shore ? " Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that 
jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high 
places of the field. The kings came and fought; 
then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the 
waters of Megiddo. . .Curse ye Meroz, said the angel 
of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; 
because they came not to the help of the Lord, to 
the help of the Lord against the mighty." Would 
you, my brethren, prefer to resemble the ungrate- 
ful and selfish tribes of Reuben, Dan, and Asher? 



368 



APPENDIX. 



Was the deliverance of Israel from the yoke of Jabin, 
king of Canaan, a matter of greater moment than is 
the deliverance of your brethren from the captivity 
of sin, and ignorance, and superstition, and death? 
Strive, then, by your personal influence and endeav- 
ors with others to advance the cause of Christ. It 
is your duty, founded on the benefits of Christianity 
which have been brought and laid as a free gift at 
your very doors. Refuse that exertion, refuse 
that personal influence and endeavor, and as on the 
inspired scroll of history it is written, so shall it 
be against you, "Curse ye Meroz, . . . curse ye bit 
terly the inhabitants thereof ; because they came not 
to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord 
against the mighty." But offer yourselves, my 
brethren, like the other tribes of Israel, willingly to 
God, and it shall be written, "They that be wise 
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and 
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for 
ever and ever." 

My brethren, there is not in the Bible a plainer 
maxim than that he who receives the gospel, is 
bound to make that gospel known. Heaven is not 
farther removed from earth than is true religion from 
every approach to selfishness. In opposition to the 
religion of selfishness, indolence, and seclusion, that 
which the Bible enjoins is active, practical, and 
diffusive, full of charity and good fruits, seeking 
out like our great Example the abodes of destitution 
and sorrow, instructing the ignorant, lifting up the 



APPENDIX. 



369 



depressed, opening wide the gate of life to the 
perishing, pouring the beams of day on those who 
sit in the shadow of death. Brethren in Christ, 
wake up to your personal responsibility, and " view 
the day of retribution." Think how you will hear, 

" From your Redeemer's lips the awful words, 
Thy brother perishing within thy gates, 
Thou sawest. Thy brother hungered, was athirst, 
Was naked, and thou saw'st it. He was sick, 
Thou didst withhold the healing; was in prison 
To vice and ignorance, nor didst thou send 
To set him free. Oh, ere that hour of doom, 
"Whence there is no reprieve, brethren, awake 
From this dark dream of inactivity and selfishness." 

III. You can, my brethren, help forward the 
cause of Christ by your liberal contributions. 

That this is the duty of Christians it would be an 
insult to attempt to prove. I boldly and fearlessly 
assert that if you believe the Scriptures you cannot 
doubt it. However little you may" reflect upon it, 
brethren, yet you are but stewards of the bounty 
which God has bestowed upon you ; and for the 
exercise of that stewardship you must render up an 
account to God. It is useless to keep back the 
truth that the wealth you enjoy is not your own. 
It is given of God for the purpose of employment 
to do good to your fellow-man. When primitive 
Christians embraced Christ they counted all things 
loss for him and his cause ; and the surrender was 
an honest, whole-souled transaction, never to be 
reconsidered, .never to be regretted. Hence from the 



870 



APPENDIX. 



Lour of their conversion they made little account of 
property. If it was confiscated, they took joyfully 
the spoiling of their goods, assured that in heaven 
they had a better and more enduring substance. 
When the cause of Christ required it, how ready 
w r ere they to lay all at the feet of the missionaries. 
Poor as were the first Christians, they were liberal 
to a degree seldom surpassed. We from our much 
give little; they from their little gave much. 
" Their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of 
their liberality." Baptized covet ousness was the 
product of a later age. Have we this spirit of 
benevolence and sacrifice? Let us not evade the 
question, but answer it. Why is it necessary for so 
much to be said and done by the pulpit and the 
press, by corresponding secretaries and traveling 
agents, to obtain our scanty supplies of missionaries 
and gather from one hundred and sixty thousand 
United Brethren, at the rate of forty cents each, 
enough to send those few missionaries to millions 
of perishing heathen. 0 Jesus, is this thy church? 
Are these the people whom thou didst redeem by 
thy precious blood, and who with the first throb- 
bings of the new heart have severally inquired, 
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" When 
Kochet-Thing, the Karen convert, was in this 
country, he was urged on a certain occasion to 
address a congregation in respect to their duty to 
give of their mea'ns to send out missionaries and 
support them. After a moment of downcast 



APPENDIX. 



371 



thoughtfulness he asked, with evident emotion, 
" Has not Jesns Christ told them to do so?" " Oh, 
yes/' was the reply, :, but we wish you to remind 
them of their duty.'' "Oh, no," said the Karen, 
' ; if they will not obey Jesus Christ they will not 
obey me." He in his simplicity considered the 
command of the Master all sufficient. 

It has been said that in the hearts of our brethren 
there are streams of benevolence — ice-bound, it may 
be, and pent up in the rocks of ignorance and preju- 
dice ; yet, if but a Moses go to them and smite those 
rocks, the stream of charity will flow forth to 
gladden all the desert. Indeed ! and had the primi- 
tive Christians such Horeb hearts, yielding nothing 
to the cause of God, nothing to the claims of a 
suffering, dying world until smitten by a foreign 
force ? Was the missionary enterprise in their day a 
crouching mendicant, wandering among the churches 
soliciting with a pauper's importunity the parings 
of liberal incomes, and then proclaiming at every 
corner the name and residence of every donor of 
twenty-five cents, lest, forsooth, if his reluctantly 
bestowed contribution should not be trumpeted, 
he might cease to care for the will of the Lord Jesus, 
and lose his interest in the salvation of the world, 
and the missionary treasury feel no more of the 
overflowings of his benevolence? Tell me, men 
and brethren and fathers, were such the Christians 
of the age of Barnabas and Philemon and Polycarp ? 

Thus, my brethren, with prayers, with personal 



372 



APPENDIX. 



efforts, and with pecuniary exertions you may, and 
I am persuaded you will, improve this open door. 
The object of all the means employed is to convey 
the news of salvation to those who are perishing. 
That object will not be accomplished until every 
idol temple shall have been utterly abolished and a 
temple to Jehovah erected in its room ; until this 
earth, instead of being a theater on which mortal 
beings are preparing by crime, for eternal death, 
shall become one universal temple in which the 
children of men are learning the anthems of the 
blessed above, and becoming meet to join the gen- 
eral assembly and church of the first-born whose 
names are written in heaven. 

Members of the United Brethren Church, from 
the habitation of his holiness the Lord Jesus Christ 
looks down upon you, and as he calls to your mind 
your highly privileged political condition, your 
blessed country, your glorious opportunities, he 
says, in language that cannot be misunderstood, 
Behold, I have set before you an open door ; and as 
you value the eternal interests of your fellow-men, 
and as you estimate divine favor, let not the opportu- 
nity be neglected. If you have been backward and 
lukewarm, be so no longer. 

O, my beloved brethren, let this subject dwell in 
your hearts, and let it animate you whenever in the 
providence of God you are called either for personal 
effort or for pecuniary aid to enter the open door. 
Neglect to do so and at the day of doom the dark 



APPENDIX. 



373 



banner which shall wave over your head will be, 
" Curse ye Meroz," and in the flames of the passing 
universe and in the melting of the elements will 
sound, " Curse ye Meroz," and on the brazen gates 
of hell will be written in characters of eternal fire, 
"Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants 
thereof ; because they came not ... to the help of 
the Lord against the mighty." 

If any man, however, is smitten with fear, let him 
retreat. If any man is faint-hearted, let him draw 
back. If any man tremble at his proportion of the 
charges for evangelizing the whole world, let him 
depart. If any man is alarmed at the noise which 
precedes the last conflict, let him hide himself with 
his money and talent in the earth ; but let all who 
love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and wait for 
his appearing and glory, give themselves anew to 
his service, and break the earthen vessel and lift up 
their voices and shout ; and the victory, and more 
than the victory shall be given to the people of the 
saints of the most high God, and a great voice out 
of heaven shall be heard saying, Behold the taber- 
nacle of God is with men and he will dwell with 
them, and they shall be his people, and God him- 
self shall be with them and be their God. 

SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY. 
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that 
love thee. — Psalm 122:6. 

I. What is implied in prosperity and Avhen may 
it be said the church is in a prosperous condition? 



374 



APPENDIX. 



1. The prosperity of the church does not consist 
in outward splendor and show. It may possess all 
the massive grandeur and sublimity of the Gothic, 
all the rich and tasteful embellishments and all the 
fine proportions of Greek architecture, and yet be 
like the whitened sepulchres and garnished tombs of 
the prophets, beautiful without, but within filled 
with dead men's bones and all uncleanness; poor 
and miserable. Nothing of mere external appear- 
ance can be taken as an evidence of prosperity. 

It is not that all its arrangements are comfort- 
able and pleasant, or that it has splendid houses 
of worship, which constitutes the prosperity 
of the church. Permit me here to offer a pass- 
ing remark lest I be misunderstood. I do not 
believe that we can devote too much to give the 
house of God a dignity, and grandeur, and a 
beauty of appearance which may honor him in 
whose name it is erected. The gathered gold of ages 
was expended in the building of the first house ever 
erected as the place for the name of the Lord of 
hosts, and gold and silver and the highest devices of 
the artists were made subservient to the solemnities 
of worship. But this may all be and yet a church 
may be sunk in spiritual penury. On the other 
hand the richest things of the Spirit may have a 
place in the church unsightly in its form and 
mean in its embellishments. I have seen, and so 
have some of you, my brethren, the house of God 
built of logs which the axe of the worshiper hewed 



APPENDIX. 



375 



out of the sturdy oak or the lofty pine, and we have 
seen it when it had no ornaments ; w r here the rude 
and ungarnished pulpit served only to bear the 
Bible, and yet we have sometimes, in such condi- 
tions, felt and known that God was present and that 
there was a spirituality in the hearts of those who 
worshiped which gave evidence of spiritual pros- 
perity, with which no gold, and no silver, and no 
embellishments can possibly compare. 

2. Again, it is not the wealth or high standing 
of those who come to the house of God which con- 
stitutes the prosperity of the church; for it is a 
melancholy fact that comparatively few are those 
among the wealthy and the elevated in society who 
become the humble disciples of the meek and 
lowly Savior. These cases, however, do sometimes 
occur, and when they do, it becomes a matter as well 
of gratulation as of notoriety and remark. "While on 
the other hand there might be a church where there 
was no individual raised in temporal circumstances 
above the necessity of laboring with his hands to 
procure his subsistence, and where learning and 
science found no entrance, and yet be prosperous 
beyond the power of language to convey, in the 
graces and virtues which are noticed and valued 
in the sight of God. 

3. Numerical strength alone is no evidence of 
prosperity. 

4. Multiplication of forms and ceremonies is no 
evidence of prosperity. 



376 



APPENDIX. 



I will now notice what are evidences of pros- 
perity. 

I. There must be purity. In what ? 

(1). In doctrine. God never did, does not now, 
and never will bless and own false doctrine in the 
conversion of souls. The importance of maintain- 
ing pure doctrine is placed in the strongest light 
by the language of the word of God which rep- 
resents true religion under the beautiful and appro- 
priate figure of walking in truth, and walking 
with God who is the great source and model of all 
truth. These figures may be considered as teaching 
the importance of sound doctrine, but the sacred 
articles abound with declarations more direct and 
solemn. Xotice the following: "Hold fast the form 
of sound words which thou hast heard of me." " Ear- 
nestly contend for the faith which was once deliver- 
ed unto the saints." "Take heed unto thyself and unto 
the doctrine," etc. "Whosoever . . . abideth not in 
the doctrine of Christ, hath not God." Hold fast the 
faithful word that you may be able " by sound doc- 
trine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers." 

As long as purity of doctrine continues to be 
preached and generally received in the church, the 
effect is uniformly benign. The word has free course 
and is glorified, sinners are convinced and con- 
verted, saints are edified and comforted, and the 
membership of the church walk together in the fear 
of God and in the consolations of the Holy Ghost. 
But in proportion as impure doctrine gains ground 



APPENDIX. 



377 



in the church, everything good declines. Discord, 
strife, division, and moral desolation become more 
and more prevalent. The prevalence of doctrinal 
error and the decline of practical religion have 
always gone hand in hand. And there is another 
fact equally remarkable and instructive. When 
false doctrines have begun to appear in any church, 
the course has too commonly been from one degree of 
heterodoxy to another until the lowest depression is 
reached. AVhen a church apostatize from purity of 
doctrine, they with deplorable frequency have been 
found to continue in the downward course until 
they reach the bottom of the declining plane. 

2. Purity in the ministry. A ministry that is 
pure imbibes the spirit of Christ and possesses a 
large portion of the mind that was also in him. 

Men may hold the truth with intelligent accuracy 
and contend for it with earnestness without submit- 
ting to its power. No minister is pure unless he 
receives the truth in the love of it ; unless he un- 
feignedly yields to Christ his love and confidence as 
his great high priest and king as well as his prophet. 
A pure minister is not only sound in faith, but also 
a converted man; a cordial, devoted, experimental 
Christian ; a man full of the Holy Ghost ; who 
speaks that which he knows, and testifies to that 
which he has experienced ; who loves his Master and 
his work above all things, and who accounts it his 
highest honor to be like Christ, and his meat and 
drink, to do his will. 



378 



APPENDIX. 



He rejects the aspirings of carnal ambition. He 
is willing to learn of him who was meek and lowly 
in heart. A pure minister is one who lives daily 
under the power of that religion which he preaches 
to others, who walks with God, who maintains a life 
of fellowship with the Father of his spirit, and with 
his Son Jesus Christ. His hatred of sin, his self- 
denial, his meekness, his forgiveness of injuries, his 
benevolence, his conscientious regard for truth and 
justice in every thing, his deadness to the world, his 
condescension to the poorest and weakest of his 
flock, his disinterestedness, his holy zeal and dili- 
gence, all bear witness that the love of Christ 
constrains him, and that the glory of Christ is the 
great end for which he lives. 

A church will never experience or enjoy the pros- 
perity so much desired under the ministration of a 
proud, high-minded, selfish, trifling ministry. The 
minister must be pure above suspicion. He must 
be able to say to his flock, follow me as I follow 
Christ. He must be an example to his flock. A 
pure minister is one of whom the enemies of religion 
will be compelled to say, we can find no fault in this 
man unless it be in the worship of his God. 

3. Purity in the membership. A church com- 
posed of members, no matter how numerous, who 
are strangers to the regenerating grace of God, not 
born of the Spirit, without a personal experimental 
interest in the death and righteousness of Christ, is 
not in a prosperous condition. The strength of a 



APPENDIX. 



879 



church is the purity of the faith of those who 
compose the membership of the church ; is the fact 
that they are building alone for salvation on that 
foundation than which none other can be laid, Jesus 
Christ and him crucified ; is in the deep emotion of 
the hearts of those who compose the stated worship- 
ers ; is in the purity and holiness of their lives, and 
in the consistency of their Christian walk and con- 
versation ; is in the affections of their hearts fixed 
on eternal things. 

When you see the members of a church regular 
and systematic in their attendance, devout in their 
demeanor in the house of God ; when you see them 
anxious to embrace every opportunity of becoming 
wise unto salvation ; when you see them deeply 
engaged in the things of personal religion ; when 
you find them active and zealous in whatever may 
advance the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom ; 
when you see them adorning the doctrine of God, 
their Savior, and in a crooked and perverse genera- 
tion seeking to keep themselves unspotted from the 
world ; when Bible, missionary and Sunday-school 
associations are fostered and encouraged, and thus 
when superadded to personal piety there is a noble 
and elevated standard in their benevolence, then the 
church may be represented as in a prosperous con- 
dition ; and then, no matter what its outward 
condition, the high and lofty One that inhabiteth 
eternity looks down with complacency on the work 
he himself hath wrought ; and whether he writes it 



380 



APPENDIX. 



on marble or on humbler materials he gives to that 
church the noblest commendation that a church 
ever received. 

4. Purity in the administration of discipline. 
Mark the evil of defective discipline. You have 
read the censure which fell upon the church of 
Thyatira. Was it not in consequence of not 
having dealt with that woman Jezebel, who was a 
member of the church, as she deserved, by cutting 
her off from the communion of the church and 
drawing a long and well marked line of distinction ? 
But as she was a woman of power, of wealth, of influ- 
ence, of great cunning, they appear to have been afraid 
to excommunicate her, and it was for this the church 
of Thyatira was censured. For God will not only 
have his people holy but he will have them hate and 
abhor every approach to evil. And, my brethren, 
I do think that want of discipline is now one of the 
trying sins which presses its heavy weight upon the 
Christian church. Are not members too often 
allowed to entertain what heretical notions they 
please, to be just as inconsistent as they please, just 
as worldly-minded and covetous as they please, 
neglect the means of grace as they please, and yet 
we must not offend them ? 

But, my brethren, the church of Christ should be 
composed of those who are true believers in him 
and are truly converted by his grace ; for God never 
intended that his religion should be placed in any. 
guardianship but that of piety of heart and life. 



APPENDIX. 



381 



The Christian church, I may say it in the face 
of this congregation, has an awful amount of cen- 
sure standing against her for want of purity in the 
administration of discipline. From the highest 
collective body down to the local government of 
individual churches, there is too much trusting to 
everything more than piety. 

Why is it that there is so much inconsistency in 
the. Christian profession? Why, simply because we 
are afraid of giving offense by telling an inconsist- 
ent, worldly-minded professor of religion that he 
has no part or lot in this matter, and that he had 
better make no profession than not to give the 
heart and life to God. 

Fear to exercise discipline brought a censure on 
Thyatira, and it will always bring a censure from 
God, let the condition of a church be what it may. 
But in the administration of discipline we must 
be careful to proceed according to the principles and 
teachings of the New Testament scriptures. 

5. If a church is to prosper there must be the 
cultivation of peace and union among the members. 
Sometimes diversity of opinion may be an occasion 
for derision and contention. It is not to be expected 
that we should all think alike concerning everything 
in this world, however near we may be to each other 
in association, or however bound to each other by 
the strong cords of affection. 

Yet diversity of opinion in the church has often 
proved very injurious. Some have differed from 



382 



APPENDIX. 



others in doctrine, pretending to greater discoveries, 
insinuating that their fellow-members are not ortho- 
dox ; that there is a sad falling off as to the great 
truths of the gospel, and that professors are strangely 
changed from what they were formerly. These 
and similar charges have been circulated and re- 
peated until the minds of many have been poisoned : 
a coldness has taken place, prayer meetings have 
been neglected and finally an open division has been 
produced. 

In order to avoid strife and division, learn to cul- 
tivate a meek and quiet spirit. Meekness is one 
distinguishing badge of Christianity. We expect 
others to bear with us: we must bear with them. 
Everything may not be according to my mind, but 
if I be a Christian I must not easily be offended. 
Let me rather try to conquer by meekness, and thus, 
perhaps, I shall win the soul of my brother while I 
possess my own. How many divisions might have 
been prevented, how many churches would still 
have been peaceful if this happy disposition had 
been cultivated. 

But it may be asked, is a man to sit down quietly 
and sacrifice truth to peace ? By no means, but the 
fact is that very often truth is not the object but 
something inferior under its garb. I therefore 
repeat, study meekness, forbearance, kindness, char- 
ity and this will doubtless prove a very powerful 
antidote against division and discord in the church. 

How plain the teachings of the gospel touching 



APPENDIX. 



383 



the importance of cultivating peace. " Keep the 
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.'' "Follow 
peace with all men." ' ; Blessed are the peace- 
makers." Remember, my beloved brethren, our 
God is the God of peace : that the Captain of our 
salvation is the Prince of peace ; that the gospel is 
the gospel of peace ; that our heaven is the residence 
of everlasting peace. To the blessed abode of peace 
may we look under every disquietude on earth ; 
and there may we all arrive at last. Be united : 
union is strength : united we stand. Be united in 
your prayers ; be united in your efforts. 

6. It is an evidence of prosperity when the 
blessed Savior is in the church by his Holy Spirit. 
Then the minister will not live, preach, and labor in 
vain j then the gospel will not come in word only to 
the hearers, but in power ; then the gospel will be 
the power of God unto salvation. 

Finally we are to pray for the peace of the church. 
What is more suitable or necessary ? Such blessing 
God will be delighted to grant. Such prayer will 
bring prosperity to the church and praise to God. 



SKETCHES. 



THE CHURCH. 

Text: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and 
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it. " — Matthew 16: 18. 

I. What is meant by the church ? 

1. Primary meaning, congregation or assemblage. 

2. Congregation of believers. Church at Colosse. 
Corinth. Seven churches of Asia. In private 
houses, Aquila and Priscilla, Nj^mphas. 

3. Used to represent the whole body of Chris- 
tians. Christ the head of the body ; head over all 
things to the church. 

4. God has always had a church — Abel, Abra- 
ham, ark, bondage in the wilderness. 

5. The church and the world form two distinct 
communities. " If ye were of the world." " My 
kingdom is not of the world." " Ye are a chosen 
generation." Efforts to unite church and world 
must be vain. Laws and subjects. 

6. Represented by various figures. Garden, vine- 
yard, sheep-fold, a well constructed building. " Ye 
are God's husbandry; ye are God's building." 
t! Christ as a son over his own house." " Lively 

384 



APPENDIX. 



385 



stones." Show the analogy. Conspicuous position. 
Compartments. Refuge. 

II. The foundation. "On this rock." Some say 
Peter, others his confession, others still Christ him- 
self. " Behold, I lay in Zion." Christ is the 
stone which the builders rejected. Foundation of 
apostles and prophets, Christ himself being the 
chief corner stone. " Other foundation can no man 
lay." Immovable, strong. 

III. Security. " The gates of hell." The grave. 
The figure in the text. Subtlety, malice, and power 
of infernal regions. Church always has had ene- 
mies. Infant church. Continued existence and 
triumph assured. 

Apply. — 1. A lesson of Christian charity. 

2. Are you willing to live and labor for the 
church ? " For her my tears shall fall." 

3. Some of you may say, " I have no interest in 
the church." I thank God I do not feel so. 

4. Some once in the church are now in the world. 
Can you not express your longing for restored fel- 
lowship in the lines, — 

" To you my spirit turns, 

Turns a fugitive unblessed; 
Brethren, where your altar burns 
Oh receive me into rest ? 

25 



386 



APPENDIX. 



LOOK UPON ZION. 

Text: "Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine 
eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that 
shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever 
be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken." 
—Isaiah 33: 20. 

I. Take a view of the church as presented in 
this scripture. Terms here employed, Zion, Jeru- 
salem, city ; these terms, though used to represent 
the Old Testament church, are equally applicable to 
the Christian church. " For Ziori's sake — " " Walk 
about Zion—" "It shall be said of Zion—" "Of Zion 
it shall be said—" "Let the children of Zion—" "Out 
of Zion the- perfection of beauty — " " Jerusalem which 
is above." "A city that is set on a hill." "City 
of the great King." " City of the living God—" 
" Glorious things are spoken of thee, 0 city of God." 
Order and laws of this city. Charter of its privi- 
leges. A quiet habitation. Peace within her walls 
and prosperity within her palaces. He who reigns 
is the Prince of peace. Gospel of peace. Inhabi- 
tants at peace with God and in communion with 
him. How tranquilizing is the voice which says, 
" Be still and know that I am God." Be still, 
anxiety and fear, " I will never leave thee." Be 
still, impatience, I am God and the times and 
seasons are in my hands. City of our solemnities. 
All connected with the church is solemn ; preach- 
ing, hearing, praying. 

II. Is this church secure? "It shall not be 



APPENDIX. 



387 



taken down." The true church can never fail. It 
is a kingdom that cannot be moved. God will pre- 
serve unto himself a people. In the ark. Abraham 
chosen. Preserved in Babylon. Behold the Chris- 
tian church. It has met the most violent opposi- 
tion. The infant Jesus. The infant church. Prisons 
and torture. Multiplied through persecution. Jew- 
ish hate. Greeks put the church in the crucible of 
their philosophy. Magistrates threw her votaries 
to wild beasts and into the fiery furnace. But 
blessed be God, despite the Jews she was the church 
of God still ; despite the Greeks, the foolishness of 
preaching has gone on conquering the w T orld; de- 
spite the magistrates, she has come forth from the 
lion's mouth with no rent in her drapery ; and from 
the furnace, and the smell of fire was not found 
upon her robes. The storm beat her, the tempest 
rocked her, the lightning scathed her, but still she 
went forward from conquering into conquest, Is 
she not secure ? 0, if thus in infancy, poor, without 
letters, without the support of the powerful,- she has 
fought her hardest battles and obtained the victory, 
has come up out of the wilderness " fair as the 
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with 
banners," is she not secure? Now art and science 
are consecrated to her service. Kings have become 
her fathers and princesses her nursing mothers. 
The world's most gifted sons and daughters worship 
at her altars. The press is scattering her Bibles 
like the leaves of autumn. Her missionaries en- 



388 



APPENDIX. 



compass the globe. Her members shout hallelujah 
from the tombs of the patriarchs to the coasts of the 
Pacific. 

But will the time ever come when the church 
shall extend through the whole earth ? Let us hear 
what God the Lord says touching this matter. "The 
' kingdoms of this world — " " Ask of me — " " All 
the ends of the world shall remember." " Even 
from the rising of the sun — " " I will gather all 
nations — " "The Lord's house shall be established 
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted 
above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."' 

III. The subject should receive proper attention. 
Look upon Zion. Angels look upon her with com- 
placency and delight. Look upon her, sinners. Look 
upon the true Christian. Remember Zion stands, 
even though you oppose. Look upon Zion that you 
may long to join her holy society. Can you observe 
the order and joy of her children and not desire a 
place with them ? Does not your heart say, " How 
amiable are thy tabernacles ?"■ Say " I will go with 
thee." "Thy people shall be my people — " Look 
upon Zion, Christians, with wonder and gratitude. 
Behold your spiritual birth-place, your final home. 
"One thing have I desired — " Look, and resolve 
there to abide. Labor and pray for her prosperity. 



INDEX. 

i 



Allegheny Conference, 115. 
Appearance, Personal, 79, 170, 278. 

Eachtel, Rev. J., 63. 
Baltimore, Residence at, 200. 
Benevolent Fund, 119. 
Boy Preacher, 40, 51, 56. 
Bright, Rev. J. C, 152. 
Brown, Bishop William, 63. 
Burtner, Rev. H., 47. 

Castle, Bishop N., 226. 
Chambersburg, Sickness at, 227. 
Chambersburg, Visit in, in 1864, 183. 
Church Commission, 258, 268. 
Churchliness, 289. 
Churchville, 171. 
Civil War, 175. 

Confession of Faith, 111, 269. 
Confidence in the Future, 100, 105, 
202. 

Constitution, 92, 97, 256, 269. 
Controversy in Staunton Spectator, 

194. 

Course of Reading, 148. 
Coursey, Rev. William R., 60. 

Davis, Bishop L., 151. 

Davis, Dr. L., Appreciative Words 

by, 238, 250. 
Dayton, Residence at, 207. 



Depravity, 146, 160. 

Discipline, Enforcement of, 141, 229. 

Doctor of Divinity, 220, 237. 

Dodds, John, Visit of, 275. 

Doup, Valentine, 51. 

Education, 109, 158. 
Edwards, Bishop D., 135. 
Emeritus Bishop, 264. 
Erb, Bishop J., 71. 

Frederick Circuit, 34. 

Geeting, Rev. George A., 38, 73. 
General Conferences : 1837, 88; 1841, 

96; 1845, 108; 1849, 130; 1853, 145; 

l8 57, 159; 1861, 174; 1865, 189; 1869, 

203; 1873, 215; 1877, 225; 1881, 232; 

1885, 254. 
Glossbrenner, Hon. A. J., 27. 
Glossbrenner Family, 18. 
Glossbrenner, Bishop J. J.: 

Birth, 18. 

Bishop, in. 

Conversion, 29. 

Death, 277. 

Estate, 281. 

Family, 85, 173. 244. 

Home Life, 84, 170. 

Leader of a Class, 37. 

Licensed, 37. 



390 



INDEX. 



Marriage, 59. 

Ordained, 61. 

Presiding Elder, 6\. 
Glossbrenner, Mrs. Maria M., 252. 
Golden Wedding, 244. 

Hagerstown Circuit, 28, 33. 
Hanby, Bishop William, 112. 
Hartsville Academy, 139. 
Hiestand, Bishop Samuel, 67. 
Hoke, Jacob, 183. 
Hott, Rev. J. W., 182. 

Infant Baptism, 160. 
Iowa Conference, 116. 

Kephart, Bishop E. B., 233. 
Krack, Rev. John, 35. 
Kumler, Bishop H., Jr., 192, 236. 
Kumler, Bishop H., Sen., 46, 61. 
Kurtz, Dr. Benjamin, 23, 42. 

Day Delegation, 159, 204, 216, 226, 230, 
269. 

I,awrence, Rev. J., 165. 

Loyalty to the Discipline, 217, 240. 

Royalty to the Union, 190, 195. 

Markwood, Bishop J., 70, 175. 
Maryland, Visit in, 213. 
McCue, Major, 194. 
Mennonites, 90. 
Miami Conference, 123. 
Missionary Society, 149. 
Missions, 70, 106. 
Muskingum Conference, 125. 

North Ohio Difficulties, 239. 

Ordination, 61. 
Otterbein University, 120. 

Pacific Tours, 209, 222. 



Parsonage, Bishop's, 200. 
Pastor, 80. 

Pennsylvania Conference, 45, 113. 
Personal Characteristics, 86, 279. 
Pleasant Valley, 60. 
Preaching, Early, 40, 53, 78. 
Preaching, Character of, 169, 283. 
Presiding Officer, 290. 
Progressiveness, 293. 
Pro Rata Representation, 233. 

Reform, 130, 150, 189. 
Reformed Church, 89. 
Reubush, Rev. J., 71. 
Rhinehart, Rev. William R., 30. 
Russel, Bishop J., 112, 198. 
Rymal, Rev. George, 62. 

Salary of Bishops, 112, 151, 281. 
Salary of Preachers, 54, 106. 
San jsky Conference, 125. 
Scioto Conference, 120, 137. 
Secret Societies, 132, 204, 241, 258 

269. 
Sermons : 

Disputes Among Christians, 321. 

I Magnify Mine Office, 301. 

Dove of Christ, 295. 

Spiritual Prosperity, 373. 

Sowing Beside All Waters, 345. 

The Church's Open Door, 356. 
Shenandoah Valley, 55. 
Shiloh Mission, 71. 
Shuey, Christian, 57, 142. 
Shuey, Rev. George A., 60. 
Sketches : 

Dook Upon Zion, 386. 

The Church, 384. 
Slavery, 106, 109, 121, 133, 141, 150, 172, 

189. 

Staunton Circuit, 55. 
Temperance, 49, 106, 131. 



INDEX. 



391 



Troup, Rev. Christian, 138. 

Union Biblical Seminary, 204. 
Union Biblical Seminary Discourses, 
231. 

United Brethren Church, Character 

of, 90, 127, 261. 
United Brethren Church, Devotion 

to. 81. 

United Brethren Church, Origin of, 
89. 

Zahn, Rev. 



Virginia Conference, 45. 

Virginia Conference, The Field of, 

177, 167. 

Wabash Conference, 118. 
Weaver, Bishop J., 194. 
Weaver, Bishop J. — Funeral Dis- 
course, 278. 
Western College, 156. 
White River Conference, 124. 
Wright, Bishop M., 226. 
ohn, 34. 



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